


Master of Death

by jolly_love



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Auror Draco Malfoy, Auror Harry Potter, Auror Partners, Auror Ron Weasley, Bisexual Harry Potter, Dialogue Heavy, Dumbledore's Army, F/M, Gay Draco Malfoy, Ginny Weasley is Dead, Harry Has 5 Children, Harry Potter is a Good Parent, Hermione Granger is a Good Friend, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, M/M, Master of Death (Harry Potter), Ministry of Magic (Harry Potter), Minor Seamus Finnigan/Dean Thomas, Neo Death Eaters, Non-Canon Named Children, Pregnant Hermione Granger, References to Abuse, Ron Weasley is a Good Friend, Scars, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, The Deathly Hallows
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-30
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:54:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 68
Words: 109,701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22038136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jolly_love/pseuds/jolly_love
Summary: The life of one Harry Potter, Golden Boy and hardworking Auror, gets turned upside down, when his best friend and fellow Auror partner, Ronald Weasley, almost dies in a raid. Yet, Harry knew it was coming and at the very last second saves his life. This has some unforeseen consequences, as Harry is soon after found by a young man, claiming to be able to help him with his newfound abilities.However, with the Neo Death Eaters at risk of taking over the Wizarding World once again and Harry's concern for his friends' and family's safety, will he be able to study his abilities to save everyone in the knick of time again or will he fail desperatly trying?Updates on Sunday and Wednesday
Relationships: Angelina Johnson/George Weasley, Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, Hannah Abbott/Neville Longbottom, Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, Seamus Finnigan/Dean Thomas
Comments: 118
Kudos: 166





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Please read the tags, it's called Master of Death, so there will be a lot of discussions surounding Death. If you're not sure you can handle it, better not read it, but I'm trying to work with everything as carefully as I can. However, sometimes it doesn't work in the story, so be sure you can handle it.

A few days ago, Harry Potter had started to feel a little anxious. Out of nowhere, a soft red light or glow had started to surround his best friend and Auror partner Ronald Weasley and apparently, he was the only one to see it. Whatever it meant, Harry wasn’t going to like it, he was sure of it.

During a raid, where some Neo Death Eaters had tried to escape, Harry had suddenly _felt_ someone giving up his life. It felt weird and not right… And then, out of nowhere, he heard the spell.

“Avada Kedavra!”

He knew. He knew the spell was meant for Ron and the only thing he could think of was to shoot a spell at his best friend that threw him across the room. Ron landed in a bookcase which collapsed on top of him and left him unconscious for a short amount of time. Even though, it had moved him to the other side of the room and probably hurt him, it had also thrown him away from the deadly spell.

There was so much blind rage and anger in Harry's body when he turned back to the man who had tried to kill his best friend that he seemed to have lost the memory of what happened next, since the next thing he could remember was all five Neo Death Eaters dead on the floor.

From across the room, Ron groaned and got up, shaking the dust from his clothes and pushing the books away from him. As he turned around, he seemed to notice their enemies on the floor. He ran his fingers through the red hair which was by now only half held back by the pony tail and sighed.

“Harry, that wasn’t what our plan was!” Ron said and shook his head. "We were supposed to take them in and find out who their leader was!"

Harry nodded silently, but was happy to note that the mysterious red glow had vanished from around his best friend. “I’m sorry, Ron. They wanted to kill you.”

Ron smiled weakly and climbed over the shattered room around the people lying on the floor. “They could have just as well gotten you!” Grabbing his wand, he stretched again and checked for some bruises on his arms.

Once again, Harry nodded, though somehow he was sure that they hadn’t tried to kill him but Ron. They scanned the rest of the house and found no living thing inside, except for them. So there weren’t any Animagi around and apparently they didn’t have plants. Harry liked this new spell very much since it eliminated the possibility of being surprised by someone who wasn’t willing enough to fight with others but decided to stay back and get his revenge then. With this spell, everything was revealed.

“Well then, let’s get Malfoy up here and let his team do the rest” Ron summarized and started doing one of the newest spell in the Ministry handbook, which was supposed to tell the Passive Aurors, the Investigators led by Malfoy, that a crime scene was ready.

In no time, the place was swarmed by people and Harry and Ron made their way to the Ministry to finish the report, before heading home. Ron wanted him to join for some drinks, but Harry was extremely tired and postponed the drinking to a later date.

Harry also decided not to floo home. A walk around London would certainly help him in some way to calm down a little. He just realized that the red glow he had seen on Ron was probably a sign showing him that he was supposed to die. There was no telling what would have happened if Harry hadn’t seen it and also hadn’t felt the death spell rushing through the air. Probably the worst thing ever. He couldn’t even imagine what he would have to tell his best friend’s wife, Hermione Weasley! How could he have told her, his childhood best friend, that her husband died while both were out in what first seemed to be a vanilla raid?

His train of depressing thoughts was interrupted, when someone stepped in his way and made him stop walking as well. “I’m sorry” the other man said and Harry looked up to find a younger man standing there. “I must have lost my way around here, could you maybe help me get to Grimmauld Place 6?”

His sharp blue eyes were only extremely prominent due to his extraordinarily white hair and white skin. He looked like a walking snowman with light blue eyes. His wardrobe seemed to be from the late seventeen hundreds and Harry figured it must have been a wizard who had no idea how to dress appropriately for Muggles.

Harry waited for a second, before he smiled back at him. “Of course, I need to go that way anyway.”

“Perfect!” The young man smiled. He did look a little weird for just any human being and Harry’s newly awakened death sense (which he didn’t know he had until now) was on high alert. He chanced another look, but it didn't change the image of this strange man. He had indeed white, silvery hair and piercing blue eyes. He was so pale that even Malfoy looked as if he had stayed in the sun for months.

While they walked next to each other for a few silent moments, Harry realized something else: his steps seemed to be… not there. Was he floating?! What was he thinking, doing something like that around Muggle London?!

Suddenly, the young man stopped and smiled at him. “I’m sorry, I haven’t introduced myself. My name is Argui Dawjan. I’m Death.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't sit still on these chapters until the end of January, so here's another one...
> 
> Updates will be slow (one per week maybe) until I've finished the story or until the end of this month. Even though I have quite a lot chapters written, I might need to change some details so they all fit together.
> 
> Please be patient with me, I promise it's going to be worth it :D  
> Thank you in advance!

Harry frowned at the newly gained information. He looked down the street, where a few children ran around in costumes, accompanied by their parents. He had always been amused by children dressing up as witches or wizards. However, right now there were some other pressing things happening.

When he turned back to the man next to him, he shook his head. The man who had asked him for directions to Grimmauld Place 6, the man who basically looked like he had spent his life in the deepest part of someone’s house without any windows did actually claim he was Death? Well, with his snowy white skin and hair, and icy blue eyes he did have alook going for him.

“Okay there.” Harry shook his head. That man was probably just a wizard trying his best not to look like a journalist and trying to get some kind of new story on him. Well, he was going to an extrem with his looks.

The blond man with the name Argui Dawjan smiled slightly. “I am not a journalist and I am not here to get a story on you, Harry Potter.”

Frowning, Harry stepped back a little and shook his head. “Then how do you know my name?” Well, the other problem was probably that this man could read his thoughts… He quickly closed his mind the way he had learnt in the Ministry. It had taken him years to master it, but now he was good to go.

“You are my Master, Harry Potter. You are Death.”

“No, I’m not. I’m just some Auror” Harry replied, shaking his head.

Argui Dawjan shrugged his shoulders. “You already made a decision today. You have decided not to have your best friend killed, but to kill the people around you.”

Harry narrowed his eyes. That man knew way too much! What was going on here?! “I didn’t decide. It happened and I needed to save my friend.”

“I know you saw the Glow of Death, Harry Potter.” 

The man was quiet for a few seconds, before he turned slightly and pointed to a middle aged woman crossing the road. If the thing that had been surrounding Ron was called the Glow of Death, she had this too. Harry was just about to ask what that meant, when a car came out of nowhere and drove into her. Shocked beyond what he thought possible, Harry held his hands in front of his mouth, while the man turned back to him. 

“Now. Why did you decide to kill her?”

Shaking his head, Harry needed some time to think about this.

However, Argui Dawjan didn’t give him any time. “She was a mother of two very intelligent boys. Her husband is a famous sales manager and liked around the world for his subtle but effective sales. He’s not fit to stay at home, looking after two boys. And his own parents died a few months back, all of this will haunt him forever and torture him. If he would have been home today – which is impossible, but that’s what he thinks – he could have been there to save her.”

“I didn’t kill her! The car did! The person inside the car!” Harry shook his head. The white skinned man over there, yes, he was Death. That was clear. But what was he trying to do except torturing him?

Argui Dawjan raised his eyebrows. “Just as with your dear friend, you could have _decided_ to do something against it. I know you felt that car arrive, since I felt it as well.”

Some people were running across the street, trying to help her. Someone called for the ambulance, but Harry knew deep down that it was too late. He could actually see the soul leaving the body and then disappearing. Two people were trying giving first aid, chest compressions, while another one had the scene under control, walking around asking questions, telling people what to do.

“Shouldn’t you be there when she dies?” Harry asked and turned to Death.

The man chuckled and shook his head. “I can delegate a few things. She lost a baby girl when she was twenty. They’re going to meet up now.”

Harry stared at the man who has spoken so calmly as if this was a daily occurrence. How could he be talking to Death now? Shouldn’t he be scary and old and… just different?

He looked back to the accident, where the man inside the car was now breaking down sobbing and a few people tried to calm him down somehow.

“I didn’t kill her, Death” Harry stated again.

Argui Dawjan shrugged his shoulders. “Sadly, that doesn’t make any difference now. Maybe, if you would have talked to her instead of me, she would still be alive and…”

“No.” Harry turned to look at Death and narrowed his eyes. “I have finally gotten over the fact that not everyone who died during the Battle of Hogwarts was my mistake. It took me over twenty damn years! You cannot just come here, talk to me and tell me that now it is my fault!”

Death seemed to smile at him encouragingly, though Harry didn’t really want that. “Nobody at the Battle of Hogwarts died because of you. Well, nobody you cared about. They all fought because they chose to. You became Master of Death inside the Forbidden Forrest, when you finally accepted that there was no way around this. Around me.”

Harry shook his head. “Then why weren’t you there when I died?”

“Because I needed the Puppet Master to explain what he did. He asked me to give him a little time with you” Argui Dawjan explained and smiled once again.

Biting back a very slight smirk, Harry had to agree. Dumbledore was kind of a puppet master.

Suddenly, he Senses were heightened and he turned around to see a car speeding towards them with the blinker on to turn right into the street where a good dozen people were on the street helping the man in the car and the dead woman on the street. Harry looked towards the people and saw more than half surrounded by a red glow.

Without thinking, Harry let his magic create a soft wall which made every mechanical aspect of the car stop working. Except for the breaks, which he pulled himself. The car stopped without any problems and everyone seemed to be okay. Shocked and scared, but okay.

Death smiled at him. “Now _that_ ’s a decision.”


	3. Chapter 3

“I don’t understand” Harry stated as both of them continued walking towards Grimmauld Place. Well, Harry was walking Argui Dawjan – also known as Death – was floating. “Why should I decide who dies? How _can_ I decide?”

It was strange to Harry how quiet the night was. Even though they had seen children go trick or treating a few minutes earlier and had been witnesses to a deadly accident; now it seemed as if all sounds had been swallowed up by the black and silent killer of the darkness. Only a few rats looking for food ran over the streets and a few bat-shaped shadows flew in front of the moon.

Death smiled at Harry and nodded. “You don’t have to decide right now. You’re not a Master yet. You, Harry Potter, are going to become a Master, just as I have.”

Harry frowned. “You are human?”

Shaking his head, the floating man chuckled. “No. I am a fallen angel. The Universe chose me and now it’s finally telling me that I have done well and that I will be once more part of the heavenly choir.”

Well, it did sound made up and in fact, if Harry hadn’t just seen this… thing appear and somehow convince him that he was in fact Death, he would have thought that this man needed to go to the Janus Thickey Ward for some kind of spell damage.

As they made their way out of the silence, Harry saw three young guys sitting on some floor steps, talking surprisingly quiet to each other. They didn’t seem older than twenty and were probably just starting their nightly tour through all the bars and pubs that were still open.

“I don’t believe in heaven or hell for that matter” Harry stated, walking by these guys who looked at him strangely.

By that time, Death smirked and started laughing loudly. “I forgot to tell you, my friend, no human being can see me. So, you’re basically talking to yourself right now.”

Harry rolled his eyes. So these boys just thought _he_ should be put into the Janus Thickey Ward… It did make sense that only he was able to see this blond man with icy blue eyes, but come on Death! They had been talking for quite some time and only now was he telling him that normal people wouldn’t see him? Great job!

“Thank you, Harry Potter” Death grinned.

“Stop reading my mind. I thought I closed it to be honest!” Harry said and rolled his eyes. Again. It did seem as if this was going to be an on-going action he was probably keeping for the night.

Argui Dawjan grinned. “You did. But as Death, I can read every mind. Soon, you can too.”

“Do I even want to?” Harry asked himself and they turned into a darker street. The streetlights in this street had never worked and it was just a little scary to walk there. Not for him though, he had always liked this part of his way home.

Once again, the darkness seemed to have swallowed all the sounds. No cars, no people, no wind even. Only a few bats and other flying creatures who cast different shades of shadows on the floor, whenever there was a small opening between the houses for the moon to shine through.

Death shrugged his shoulders and they continued walking down the sinister street. Shadows soon turned into figures and light became their deadliest and defeating weapon. In all honestly, the shadows had started to look different and other worldly, as if they had gotten their own forms.

Finally, Harry decided to ask more questions. “So, I can just choose to save every person that is surrounded by this… Gloom of Death?”

Death laughed loudly and shook his head. “Glow, Harry Potter. It’s Glow of Death.” He chuckled for a while, until he finally calmed down and his serious face showed again. “No. There are people that aren’t meant to be saved.”

“Why not?” 

Argui Dawjan sighed and rolled his eyes. “Because the Universe needs some things to happen.”

Frowning, Harry decided he needed some more answers. “Okay, then tell me. Who wasn’t meant to be saved?” His voice echoed from the walls, as the street transformed itself into a small path, just wide enough for two people next to each other – or one living person and one personification of Death.

And this personification was quiet for a few moments, until he turned and looked at Harry, smiling slightly. It looked very weird and somehow reminded Harry of a nightmare he’d had in his childhood. Well, Death now knew that as well, since he had almost certainly read his mind.

“Elisabeth Bathory, Josef Mengele, Heinrich Himmler, Maximilien Robespierre, Ivan the Terrible…“ he started to count.

Harry shook his head. He recognized some names, but not all of them. However, his years with the Aurors had helped him gather information and he knew what he was dealing with almost instantly. „So basically evil people with a lot of power? I honestly don’t know the first lady you mentioned, but I assume with the rest of them, she had some bad history as well?”

Death shook his head. “Those are the ones that are unable to change the fate on a global scale. On a personal level, I would say… Ginevra Molly Weasley-Potter.”


	4. Chapter 4

Harry stopped dead in his track and slowly turned to face Death. That hurt. Very much. They had planned to do so many things together! Ginny had even planned their fifteenth wedding year anniversary, when she had gotten sick. Harry could do nothing except tend to her while she got weaker and weaker. And in the end she died in her sleep. Two days before their anniversary. No one had found a cure to her illness, since one in a million had gotten this sickness.

It hadn’t only destroyed Harry, but their children as well. At least Ginny died when their children had all been at Hogwarts, so nobody had seen the last few hours. Except Harry. That had only been about two years ago, but it still hurt very much.

Frowning and blinking quickly, Harry started to talk quietly to the personification of Death which had stopped walking at the same time Harry had. “You claim I can see people’s deaths approaching, right? Why then couldn’t I see anything with Ginny? She never had this red aura.”

Well, he could see it all with Ginny. She had gotten white as a sheet by the end of her days. Still, if he was going to be the Master of Death, shouldn’t he had been able to see death coming? Or at least this weird aura around her.

“Not an aura, Harry Potter” Death smirked.

Harry rolled his eyes, not happy with his response. He opted on not saying anything, making Death realize that he still owed him an answer, however, he chose to re-ask his question. “Okay, okay. Why couldn’t I see the – _her_ Glow of Death?”

“Well, because up until now you never had the possibility to change something. Ginevra Molly Weasley-Potter was supposed to die and anyone else, you never saw as worthy of being saved.” Argui Dawjan started walking (more floating) through the dark alley again. Harry followed, frowning and with racing thoughts.

“Everyone is worthy of being saved, Death!”

“I misspoke, Harry Potter” Death frowned now as well. “You never had any intention of _actively_ saving them. That was up until your friend Ronald Bilius Weasley. Since you changed his fate, you can see the Gloom of Death and I have been called here.”

This information was… not really what Harry had expected. He didn’t want to talk about Ginny anymore and decided a change of topic was probably welcomed. “Okay, then. One more question: Why do you keep calling people by their full name, except for me?”

Death chuckled and both walked out of the dark alley into a slightly bigger street. At least one with street lamps. However, they didn’t seem to be able to touch the young man’s body. It seemed as of the light went right through him and he also didn’t have any shadow accompanying him on the floor. “You are the future Master of Death. For now, I will call you Harry Potter. The more powerful you become, the faster I’ll change how I will refer to you.”

Harry frowned. That was interesting. At least he had now gotten out of the depressing topic of his dead wife. Suddenly, he realized how he had started to accept that he was becoming the Master of Death. That was not really what he had been expecting, especially not that quickly.

By that time, they had gotten to the end of the street and turned into a busy bigger one, Argui Dawjan started talking again. “By the way, there is something else you should know, Harry Potter.”

Harry rolled his eyes. “Can you call me something else but my full name?” He was talking out loud as even though they had entered a busier street, almost no one was out here – again. It seemed extremely weird especially since it was Halloween and London. There were always people, everywhere.

“Of course, Paruluum.” Death grinned. Though it looked more as if he grimaced. Something suddenly seemed to change his form.

“Argui Dawjan, what does that mean?” Harry asked, not really sure about what language it was (but betting on latin).

Death laughed. “Little baby, Harry Potter. You have no skills which means the appropriate title name seems to be…” 

“Yes. Thank you, I get it. What information did you want to tell me?”

The young man laughed and shrugged his shoulders. “You can’t save everyone you see with the Glow of Death. It’s an art of choosing the right people.”

Both turned into the street for Grimmauld Place, when Harry stopped and frowned at him. “The right people?! How can anybody be right to die?! Ron wasn’t right to die today! That lady who got caught by a car also wasn’t right to die!”

Luckily, there were no people around so they couldn’t see Harry arguing with… thin air, basically. Harry didn’t really care about what other people might see. Ginny had always been the one who helped him with his public appearances, now he wasn’t sure what he should be doing…

“It’s not about the people who die, but the people who learn something by that” Death started. He held up his fingers, talking about the people they’ve seen today. “The driver of the car will never ever drive fast again. The woman standing on the side wasn’t sure that she could be brave, but the thing that happened to her proved she could do whatever she wanted. She’s probably going to open up a flower shop, independently.”

“How does that help the dead people?” Harry frowned.

Argui Dawjan shrugged his shoulders. “Absolutely nothing. But this is important to understand if you want to be able to choose who will die and who will live.”

“I cannot make a decision like that!”

“Not yet, Paruluum, but soon you’ll be able to cast such a decision within a few seconds.” Death smiled, bowed and disappeared, leaving Harry standing alone in front of his house.

That was just extremely weird! Yes, well… this whole evening had been that way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, the first few (shorter) information chapters are over :)  
> Now the average of all the chapters is between 1,5k and 2k. I hope you're going to like this story. :D


	5. Chapter 5

Harry had stayed home for the whole weekend, not really sure what to do make of this newly gained information. He was the Master of Death? He had always thought that these items he had gotten didn’t mean anything. Well, nothing big at least and the title of Master of Death should have definitely been a… a fairy tale, right? Or course, the Invisibility Cloak his father had gifted him had meant the world, however, simply because it was the only thing he had gotten from him.

He had used it a lot during his years as an Auror and it had helped tremendously in four or five raids. Never had he thought that he would actually get to talk to Death – and being its Master? That was just pure fantasy, right? Well, that actually _was_ a fairy tale. Maybe even a dream he had after he went through such a traumatic event of having seen his partner almost die in front of him… Which definitely hadn’t happened a few times already… Definitely not.

Monday morning arrived after a particularly lazy weekend in which only Harry’s brain had been working nonstop. He had indeed not even gotten a quiet minute to sleep. Well, he had tried to, but it never worked.

Right now, Harry cautiously made his way through the Ministry, hoping not to run into anybody who was glowing red. Luckily, as it was still rather early for literally anybody, not that many people were inside the huge building. Or they were just hiding in their respectable offices. When Harry finally made it to his shared office with Ron, he exhaled loudly and sat down at his desk. Ron was usually a little later, especially with a pregnant Hermione at home.

Harry’s desk seemed to represent his racing thoughts: pure chaos. He knew where he had last seen some papers, but he also knew that here had been new parchments placed on top and every time he needed to look for something, the chaos got bigger and bigger. There were quills hanging out somewhere, only attached with one string to the table. There was definitely at least one ink case somewhere, just waiting for an accident to happen and maybe… just maybe… there was also a lost breakfast toast hiding between a few pages or folders.

Harry needed to clean up and why not take this Monday, where his thoughts were already all over the place, to start the deep cleaning of his desk. In fact, it would be a rather healthy distraction. Or at least he thought so.

He looked over the paperwork which had somehow multiplied itself over the course of the weekend and was just about to pile a few of the new cases onto the window sill, when a knock sounded at the door. Looking up, he saw Malfoy standing at the open door.

Harry cleared his throat, trying his hardest not to look at him too closely. Draco _fucking_ Malfoy had somehow over the last few years gotten Harry’s attention. Not because his work was impeccable, which it certainly was, but because he had gotten to look extremely handsome. His pale skin had gotten a much healthier look and the shape of his face did something to Harry which he didn't really like to think about...

Now, he was wearing the official black smooth Ministry robes, though he wore a dark blue jumper that was visible and matched his light grey eyes very well. The color of the jumper made his eyes somehow intense and Harry swallowed quickly.

Well, Malfoy’s hair was a mess – it usually wasn’t – but right now he could race Harry for the most just-gotten-out-of-bed-look and Harry weirdly started to realize that he liked seeing him that way very much. Well, the Slytherin looked – all in all – as if he had worked on a case all throughout the weekend. And the dark bags under his eyes supported this theory.

“Malfoy?” Harry didn’t know what else to say. Except for blurting out a love confession, though he wasn’t about to do that, especially since they weren’t even on first name basis. They had been neutral to each other, greeting when they passed each other on the floor, but they never as much as shared a conversation.

“Hello Potter, may I enter?”

Harry motioned him to sit down on the other side of his desk, while he placed the pile of new paperwork on the window sill, the only place without any folders or parchments. He quickly placed some of the folders from the desk on the floor – hoping that he didn’t accidentally find the by now probably moldy toast (which didn’t happen) – so that Malfoy had a little more space.

The Slytherin closed the door and sat down in front of Harry. He placed a single folder in front of him. Harry waited for some explanation, but that never happened. Frowning, he looked at Malfoy and narrowed his eyes.

“What’s going on?”

Malfoy cleared his throat. “So, this is about the raid which you did with Weasley” he started.

Harry frowned, not really sure what he was talking about, when he remembered the red glow around Ron and how he had pushed him out of the way. “Oh. Yes, I remember. Do you have paperwork for that? To close the case? You’re fast.”

He wanted to grab the folder and read what was inside, when Malfoy got hold of it again and shook his head. Some of his loose strains of hair fell into his face, though he didn’t seem to care. And this action made Harry even giddier. “It’s not that easy, Potter. I came here to ask whether or not we could perform a Magic Emitters Process on both you and Weasley. We found a very strange sort of magic all around the crime scene and nobody has ever seen something like that.”

Frozen with terror, Harry had quickly forgotten all about Malfoy’s good looks and listened to what he had said. He had a feeling that it had something to do with being the Master of Death. He hadn’t really realized what had happened after he had gotten Ron out of the way.

There were two options: refuse or say yes. If he would refuse… Malfoy would get suspicious, however, he also didn’t want to say ‘yes’ without knowing what effects his magic would have to the test. Argui Dawjan or rather Death could have probably told him how to do the test without getting seen… Harry wet his lips and looked at Malfoy, hoping that Death might be somewhere around to help him.

The Slytherin already looked as if he was a little suspicious of him. Maybe Harry could stall a little. “How would a Magic Emitters Process help here?”

Malfoy shrugged his shoulders. “If it’s either of you, we can work on it and maybe get this magic up to speed. My people think it’s extremely powerful and if trained properly, could help in so many raids so that nobody would get hurt ever again.”

“It could have also been somebody of the people there, Malfoy. I know you’re aware of it, but Aurors have a lot of training to get their magic under control at any moment.”

Nodding, the Slytherin took out a small notebook. He started writing something down and Harry was suddenly aware that maybe he had stalled enough. Before he could think of what to do next, his train of thoughts was interrupted.

“You should say yes” a voice sounded from across the room, where Death stood, now finally able to be seen again. The tall man with snow white hair and skin leaned at the window sill and, next to crossed legs at the ankles, had also crossed his arms over his chest. “Just tell them to do this thing tomorrow, so I can show you how to hide your magic from any test.”

Harry nodded, thankful for Death’s help. “Malfoy, of course we agree to do this test. However, I’d prefer for it not to be today, as I have a lot of unfinished cases and I need to get an overview of what I’ve got here.”

The Slytherin nodded as he looked at the chaos surrounding Harry’s desk and put down his notebook. “Alright. You do understand that I can’t give you free range, until you do this test, right?” He waved he person who was standing in front of the door inside. He was a thin, tall black haired wizard. In fact, he reminded Harry a lot of how he had looked a good few years ago. “This is Nathan Blackrose, he’s your personal bodyguard and watcher as long as you haven’t taken the test.”

 _He’s also dying_ , Harry thought and looked over to Death who shrugged his shoulders. Yes, the red glow around Nathan Blackrose was hard not to miss and Harry thanked Malfoy. They set the date for the next day, in the afternoon, so Ron had enough time to come to work and the Slytherin rose to his feet.

Conjuring another desk for Blackrose to work at, Harry showed Malfoy that he was okay with the limitations he had set. And once the Slytherin had left the room, both men started to work quietly again. Blackrose on some paperwork, Harry was looking through the folders and parchments, piling them into different topics.

Death walked closer and sat on the floor behind the desk next to Harry. “So I guess it’s time to tell you that you don’t need to talk to me out loud. You are my Master, Harry Potter. All of what you think will appear in my head as well.”

 _All of it?_ , Harry asked in his head and he widened his eyes, when he thought of the things he normally thought of when he would be met with a cute man. And especially Draco Malfoy…

“Yes, Paruluum, all of it. Even those thoughts.” Argui Dawjan chuckled and shook his head. “Now, however, we need to figure out how you can get your magic under control. I would have liked to have about two months time, not twenty-four hours. And this man” Death turned around to look at Blackrose, sighing. “He’s also a problem. Usually, I would take you into my realm and have you work in there.”

_What do you mean ‘usually’?_

Argui Dawjan shook his head. “That is the least of your problems, Harry Potter. Is there a place here which isn’t obvious for you to go to and where magic is strictly controlled?”

Harry looked at a few papers in his hands without actually reading what was written on top of them. _Some of the training’s areas for trainee Aurors. They have very heavy magic repelling charms on them. But why?_

Death chuckled amused and got up. “Well then, Harry Potter, go and find a reason as to why you should be there. If you can will your magic to work in there, you can will your magic to stop working when this test happens.”

 _And that’s what I want?_ Harry couldn’t stop himself from frowning. However, if Blackrose had looked up, he would have probably looked as if he had frowned at the paper.

Harry was thrown out of his thoughts, when the door opened and Ron walked in, looking and panting as if he had run through the whole Ministry, trying to win a race for the very last chicken sandwich or something like that.

“Sorry, mate! I… Who are you?” Ron looked at Blackrose.

Harry smirked a little and motioned Ron to sit down. Before he could say anything, Blackrose started talking rather politely. “My name’s Nathan Blackrose. I’m here to monitor your magic for the day.”

“He works with Malfoy” Harry explained. “They found some weird magic and want us to do a Magic something processing thing.”

Ron frowned, but Blackrose corrected Harry quickly. “Magic Emitters Process.”

“Okay. So do we both have to stay in your presence?” Ron asked as he got up and walked towards Harry, who handed him a few folders he had looked at already and decided to give to Ron so he could finish the paperwork.

Blackrose shook his head. “No, Mr. Weasley. But I do need to know where you are at all times and where you’re heading. I also need to go and find you once every hour for at least ten minutes if you’re somewhere else but in your office.”

Raising his eyebrows, Ron placed the folders on his desk and sat down thoughtfully. “What if we’re tasked to go outside again? Do you have field experience?”

“Ron, we just came back from field work, we need to finish this paperwork before they’re throwing us out again” Harry laughed. He caught sight of Argui Dawjan staying at the door with his arms crossed over his chest.

Looking at the paper work, he turned to his babysitter. “Listen, Blackrose, I wanted to check the trainee’s quarters and area for any magical problems. Do you need to follow me? Or would you just like to have me report to you once an hour?”

He got up and waited for Blackrose’s reply. The man seemed a little unsure, but shook his head, eventually. “No, Mr. Potter. I will come by and see what you’re doing as long as you’re there. If you decide to change locations, please make sure to inform me as well.”

“Of course!”


	6. Chapter 6

“Now, how do we do this?” Harry asked as he had entered the Trainee’s Area. Well, he had long ago entered it, but now finally made it to the place where the Ministry had put magic dampener into the walls. It was a huge hall with no windows, black almost soul crushing walls and metal ceilings. In this area you could really see how this part of the Ministry had a few years earlier been part of the Muggle World, maybe a forgotten tube station or something.

The moment Harry had put a foot in there, he had felt his magic leave, but at the same time it seemed to try and fight against the magic repelling charms. That was the first time any of this had happened. It felt weird but at the same time really cool.

Argui Dawjan stood in the middle of the room and smirked, while Harry marched up to him. It was as if the white skin and hair were somehow illuminating the room as well. “Well, you’re already doing it. You see, becoming Master of Death means that your Death Magic can function in the strangest and hardest of places. Which is why I would have liked to take you to my realm, but we’ll do this later. For now, all you need is to work on your will to give life to your hidden magic.”

Harry sighed and closed his eyes. He let the Ministry charms fight with his own magic and after some time he felt about a thousand tons lighter. Surprised by the outcome, he opened his eyes, looked around and frowned.

“Well, that’s not good.” His eyes caught onto what had happened in these three seconds… The reason why he hadn’t felt that heavy was because he had somehow destroyed the magic repelling charm. You could see a silvery blue or grey outline of a broken spell on the ceiling. Harry sighed and walked over to the small notebook and wrote down the sections that needed to be fixed.

Death chuckled. “Well, Harry Potter, your magic isn’t in control, remember? Death Magic is the strongest there is.”

Before Harry could respond, the door opened and Nathan Blackrose aka Malfoy’s security for anything magical entered frowning. “Everything alright?”

“Yes, thank you, Blackrose.” He turned back and looked at the ceiling, trying his hardest not to feel pained by the dark red glow surrounding the passive Auror. “I’ve found some irritations here and need to open a repair log, so that the Department of Magical Maintenance can have a look at it and repair it.”

Blackrose nodded, but nevertheless walked into the training area. Harry rolled his eyes, while Argui Dawjan laughed and shrugged his shoulders. “Since he can’t hear or see me, I will continue to give you some insight into what you should be doing” he explained.

Harry frowned at the paper and looked up quickly to glare at Death, before he wrote something down. His new friend didn’t seem interested in this, but chuckled in the background.

“What you’re supposed to feel, when you’re trying to suppress your magic is something of a waterfall rushing by and you standing behind it basically. So, the magic of this test is rushing by but you should under no circumstances try and tap into it.”

Looking back at the walls and creating a diagnostics spell, Harry wrote down another piece of magic that seemed to be broken. He frowned again, though still about the stuff Death was telling him. _How do you know that much about Magic and all the tests and stuff we do? I thought you said you were a demon?_

Argui Dawjan grinned and shook his head. “Fallen angel, Harry Potter. And well, I’ve been around here for long enough to figure out what the humans have tried. I can see and sense far more than that. The test” he got back to the topic which they probably should be talking about. “The test will give you huge amount of magic which will be rushing by your body and your magical core and it’s going to be uncomfortable. It’s made so that if you have a strange kind of magic, you can actively change the way the magic takes and make it stream outside of your core. However, no one should be able to do that with simple magic.”

Frowning Harry turned around and wandered backwards into the middle of the room. “Well, since I am Harry Potter, I think I do have a lot of magic, right?” he asked, pointing his quill at different areas and writing down another area of broken magic.

“What?”

Harry was thrown out of his element, when someone asked that and when he turned around, he realized that the sentence before, he had said out loud instead of in his head. Death sat on the floor, grinning from ear to ear, his icy blue eyes fixed upon Harry and shrugging his shoulders.

He needed to think and act quickly, otherwise this would most certainly be reported to Malfoy and he would maybe start another test which Death couldn’t have seen coming. And maybe he would fail that test and be taking in to do whatever…

“Well…” Harry started and looked around. “I was… thinking about – whether or not I should do the repair, you know. I mean, I have a strong magical core and maybe I could even fix this. What do you think?”

Blackrose looked around and tilted his head slightly to the back, before shaking his head. “I think you could do it, Mr. Potter, but we should let the professionals handle this. It’s an area for trainee Aurors, right? That should be done properly.”

Harry nodded, slightly relieved that this had actually worked and Death roared his laughter through the huge hall – though only Harry could hear it. “Nice save, Paruluum.”

_Thank you, Death._

Blackrose left after that, thanking Harry for his time and telling him to keep in touch should he choose to change his locations. After guaranteeing that he would be doing that, Malfoy’s minion left and was probably going to look for Ron.

“So what now? Do I need to look for a new room?” Harry asked and sighed. He placed the notebook on the floor, checking the plates and areas again, before he turned to Argui Dawjan.

The young man smirked. “Not at all. I will show you what this magic feels like and your task will be to try and let it happen until the so called test will be over. Thankfully, as you are the Master of Death, long composure to this sort of magic will not have any side effects on you.”

Harry narrowed his eyes, thinking of Ron. “What do you mean by side effects?”

“It’s pure magic, Harry Potter. Pure magic is extremely harmful if exposed to for a longer period of time – anything up to five minutes is considered tolerable – however, after five minutes, your own magical core can start to split and you will be crumbling to ash in a matter of seconds” Death explained motionless as if it was some information at a conference meeting, with something to get the newest people up to speed.

Harry stayed there unable to do anything until he shook his head vigorously. “The Ministry can do these tests?! How long do we have to stay in this pure magic stream?! How is that even allowed?”

Death chuckled. “It’s two minutes top. As you are Harry Potter, they might keep you in there longer, but your friend might be free after two minutes. As I said, Paruluum, this sort of magic will not affect you as you are under my observation. Your magical core is much stronger than others.” He pointed to the roof, where the magic repelling charm had broken, as if to prove what he had said.

Nodding, Harry wanted to answer, when he felt something like a dagger go repeatedly through his body and his magic core. It felt as if the dagger was ice cold and it reminded him of the lake where he had jumped into to find the sword of Gryffindor on his years on the run.

There was a very weird pain related to it and while this magic seemed to be penetrating his body, he felt himself being about to throw up. It was just too much. Every move, every little move he did was throwing him off balance. His whole body seemed to tense up and even if Harry wanted to relax and make the pain more tolerable, it wasn’t working. The knife was basically twisting his insides around, squeezing his stomach, his heart and his lungs. This kind of pain, he had never experienced. Harry closed his eyes, trying his hardest, not to puke and lose face. 

“Don’t fight it, Harry Potter. If you want to prove to Draco Malfoy and his staff that you had nothing to do with the magic they found, you need to let it happen” he heard Argui Dawjan’s voice and shook his head.

A bucket appeared in front of him and he couldn’t hold back anymore, puking into it while tears of pain rolled down his cheeks. “Stop, please!” he whimpered and found his voice rather pathetic. His hands clutched the bucket so hard that his knuckled had turned white.

The magic didn’t stop and the pain seemed to increase, while Harry fell to his knees, head almost in the bucket of his own vomit, not able to cope anymore with his understanding of the world. “Please. I can’t anymore.” It was just a weak whisper. Even now, his voice trembled and his face was wet with tears.

Finally, the magic stopped and Harry coughed pushed the bucket away and held his chest, where there was still some pain resting. Once he had enough strength again, he climbed onto his feet, though he was still wobbly. He looked up at Death who seemed to be unimpressed.

“I thought you had a higher pain level.”

Harry coughed again and narrowed his eyes at him. “I thought you weren’t a demon.”

Argui Dawjan shrugged his shoulders, clearly not interested in what Harry had said. “Well, we are working under immense time pressure. If this is your reaction tomorrow, they will know that it was you who made this – for them – weird magic creation. It shouldn’t hurt you, just feel unnerving. You can throw up, people do that all the time during those tests, but pain isn’t normal.”

“I’m pretty sure I’ve done enough for today” Harry stated and turned around, when a sharp pain in his chest arose again.

He let out a sharp cry of pain, turned around, fuming, to Death and was just about to complain, when the young man started first. “I am the one who says when and if you’re done for today. If you’re found out, I’m found out and neither of us can have this right now. We are doing this until you can at least withstand the crying, Harry Potter.”

Harry scowled, but couldn’t withstand another very loud and angry cry of frustration, while Argui Dawjan looked at him falling to his knees once again. Oh how Harry hated Death right now! Why did he need to torture him right now?! He could have waited for a few more minutes, until he was doing a little better and get him then… Now it just felt as if his heart was being stabbed by ten thousand very small but sharp knives.

“You’re forgetting that I can read your mind, Paruluum.”

“I can say it as well” Harry pressed through his lips, trying his best now to throw up or let his tears fall. “Fuck. You.”


	7. Chapter 7

They had trained all night long. Whenever Harry had fallen into any kind of peaceful sleep, he had been awoken by a sharp pain in his chest and showered Death who was sitting on the very end of the bed with some colorful swear words. However, they had somehow managed to do this procedure with quite a huge amount of success.

Once morning came, Harry could withstand this test for ten minutes without throwing up or shedding tears. It still hurt like hell, but he could make it look from the outside as if he had no pain and it was just a little unpleasant.

When Harry had started working in the Ministry, Blackrose had shown up again, sat down at his desk and they quietly worked for two hours, until Ron finally made it, looking very distressed.

“Everything okay, Ron?” Harry asked carefully, while handing him another few files.

His friend nodded, though not very happy. “Hermione’s not feeling all too well. I think it would do her good, if you’d go and talk to her. Maybe you can cheer her up?”

“Sure thing, mate.”

He hadn’t seen Hermione in a while. With her being home and bedridden almost all the time and Harry having a lot of field work to do, they never really got to meet as of lately. However, it was unlikely that Harry and Ron would get another case which included field work until Malfoy’s case had been solved – or at least until both of them were cleared of the use of this weird magic. So, he would go and visit her this evening.

They worked quietly for a while, went to lunch together (Blackrose following wherever they went) and once afternoon arrived, they were called to Malfoy’s office. Harry felt anxious, but tried his hardest not to make it visible and once they arrived in his office, they sat down on the two chairs provided to them.

Malfoy started to explain this whole procedure, along with the fact that should they feel pain, they should tell him so that they could stop the machine.

 _Smooth_ , Harry though, who by now had reached the understanding that if he was to feel pain during this test, he better not be telling anybody. Argui Dawjan had made it very clear to him that he should try his hardest to ignore the pain and tears. Puking was okay, nothing else. However, Malfoy made it look as if they wanted the best for both of them and that pain wasn’t something they should be experiencing.

“Would anybody like to start?” Malfoy asked placed a simple wooden chair in front of a rather scary looking, golden pipe.

Harry was just about to speak up and offer to go first, when Ron had already seated himself there. When he caught Harry’s eyes, he grinned. “You see, now I can finally be the one to start with something dangerous!”

Even though the situation wasn’t very funny, this comment made Harry giggle and he hid his amusement behind his hand. “You better not die, Ron!”

Malfoy had followed their interaction and shook his head. “No one has died during this test for the past twenty years. And I will not let that happen right now.”

They fastened a few belts and ropes around his ankles, legs and arms, as well as one around his stomach. Harry watched with slight horror. He really didn’t want to do this, any of it. He didn’t want to watch his best mate being tortured by this pure magic and then doing the same himself.

However for Ron it was probably not as painful as it was for himself… So maybe it was okay. Harry narrowed his eyes and watched closely, as Ron exhaled, slightly nervous.

Everyone stepped back, Malfoy powered the machine and a ray of strong, golden, clearly pure magic shot right through Ron’s chest. He grimaced, shifted around in his chair, but stayed still shortly after. Harry inhaled deeply, growing more and more anxious as this went on, until a presence made him relax softly.

Death stood at the door, his legs crossed at the ankles, arms crossed as well, looking at Ron and nodding at Harry shortly after. “I told you, Harry Potter: You don’t need to be scared. I will be there to help you.”

Ron had kept his eyes closed, until Malfoy stopped the machine. The blond wizard checked his watch and wrote something down on a piece of parchment, while his underlings freed Harry’s friend. Ron grinned and he inhaled again, shaking his head. “That was just very weird.”

Harry tried his best not to look scared shitless. “Yeah? What did it feel like?”

His best mate had just wanted to say something, when Malfoy told him to leave the room and for Harry to take a seat. So, he got up and sat down, shaking slightly. Malfoy’s minions attached him to the chair and Harry looked down, closing his eyes even before the Slytherin had started the machine.

“Ready?” he heard Malfoy ask and nodded just in case his childhood nemesis had asked him and not one of his own workers.

The ray of sunshine gold (and pure magic) cut through his body and magical core and he felt himself wince slightly. There was however another presence next to his and it calmed him immediately. Death seemed to have some sort of calming and pain-removal magic which he laid all around Harry and even though he felt the pain in his chest and magical core, he stayed silent, working with the pain.

After what felt like half a minute, Malfoy stopped the machine and released Harry from the shackles. He just wanted to say something, when Harry felt his stomach cramp and he bent over, feeling the sour taste of his own vomit way before it left his body.

The Slytherin quickly placed a bucked in front of him, perfectly timed for Harry not to puke on his office floor. He groaned and rubbed his forehead. That shit was disgusting and the pain somehow still stayed in his body long after the thing was over.

“I’m sorry” Harry said quietly, once he could talk again without having to fear that there was more spilling.

Malfoy nodded and gave him a soft smile. “Don’t worry, Potter. That’s a fairly normal reaction to pure magic. Nobody can withstand it very long and you went for three minutes and seventeen seconds. I’d be rather surprised if you walked out of here as if nothing had happened.”

Blackrose gave him an encouraging nod as well, before he started to dismantle the portable station of pure magic. Harry groaned again, before getting to his feet, vanishing the bucket to the trash and turning to Malfoy.

“So, anything else we can do for this case?”

Shaking his head, the Slytherin answered. “I don’t think so. From what I could gather right now, I don’t think either of you did this, but I need to take a better look at the exposure figures. After that, you will probably hear from Ainsworth about whether or not you can return to the field.”

He held out a small vial for Harry to take, which he did and downed in one gulp. His pain disappeared and the headache that had started vanished as well. “Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.” Malfoy nodded at him and before he could leave his office, he called after him: “As I said, wait for the Head Auror to give you permission to go out into the field again.”

“Don’t worry, Malfoy. I’ll follow your orders.” With that he turned around and walked back to his office in which Ron was probably already waiting for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here Update-schedule arrived:
> 
> I will definitely upload a new chapter every Sunday. I wanted to give you 2 chapters per week. So, the other chapter will be uploaded on Thursday. However, since I do have quite full Thursdays, if I think i don't have time on that day, I am giving myself the power to update on Wednesday instead.
> 
> So:  
> \- Sunday 100%  
> \- Thursday (or Wednesday)
> 
> I hope you're going to like this story!


	8. Chapter 8

“What was that magic you used on me to get me not to feel the pain?” Harry asked once they were in Harry’s office – Ron nowhere to be seen.

Argui Dawjan who had followed him into it, sat down on Ron’s desk and smiled weakly. “It’s called ‘Mercy of Death’ and I can apply it to people who are dying in pain. Should the situation need this kind of pain for the human to pass into the other world, I can give them pain relieve and a sense of calm you wouldn’t normally get before death. I can also make them happy and help them pass easier.”

Harry nodded. That made a lot of sense. “So, when do I get to learn that?”

“Once you’re ready, Harry Potter.”

Death disappeared suddenly when the door opened and Ron walked in. “Hey Harry. How was the test for you? I felt really weird!”

Smirking, Harry nodded. “I’ve never heard of this pure magic thing! It was kind of interesting to do this test though.”

Ron nodded and they worked silently for a few hours, until Harry decided to go and finish early, planning on surprising Hermione. His partner supported it fully and told him that he would be joining them in about two or three hours, planning on finishing this case file first.

So, Harry grabbed his stuff and headed to the Apparition Spot, apparating somewhere outside of London, near a small house with a beautiful and huge garden. This garden had always looked so amazing to him and the small but somehow functional house was everything Harry had been dreaming of. Once Hermione and Ron had moved into it, Harry found himself going here almost every other day, just to see the house. It had turned very weird very fast and he had decided to stop going here, since he would be in love with the house too much.

That was about five years ago, now he still liked the house, but with his family, he’d rather not live in it. It was cute and worked for a small family, not his five children and him…

Once he knocked on the door, a highly pregnant Hermione opened the door and beamed at him once she seemed to notice who stood in front of her. However, Harry had a hard time looking at her face – her belly was glowing. It wasn’t glowing red, as Harry might have thought first, but green.

He quickly looked at Hermione and forced a smile onto his face. “Hey ‘Mione! How are you doing?”

“I can’t believe you’re here, Harry!” Hermione smiled broadly and stepped back for him to enter.

While he did that, he mentally asked Death about the green glow. Not a second later, Argui Dawjan sat on the couch, looking at Harry a little bored. “I thought we’d start our lessons today, Harry Potter.”

Hermione interrupted the discussion unable to be heard by her ears. “Would you like something to drink? Some cookies?”

“Tea would be great, ‘Mione. I’d enjoy a lemongrass tea.”

His best friend chuckled. “I know that, stupid. Go sit in the living room, I’ll be right with you.”

Harry frowned slightly. “You don’t need any help?”

“I can do this by my own, thank you very much.” Hermione was gone towards the kitchen before Harry had any time to respond.

So, he walked into the living room, where Death was already sitting and reading through a newspaper. Harry narrowed his eyes.

_What will Hermione see when you’re reading a newspaper like that?_

Argui Dawjan looked up rather amused and shrugged his shoulders. “A floating newspaper, most likely? I’ve never tried it actually. I should try it now.”

Harry rolled his eyes. _Please don’t._

He looked back to the kitchen thinking about the belly which was glowing green and he turned over to Death, who just then put the newspaper back carefully.

“Now, the Glow of Death can get different colors, I won’t tell you all of them just now. You already know the most salient one – red. This is the one you can work with – change fates and so on. The one your friend, Hermione Granger, is experiencing right now is an infant which will not see the light of day.”

Harry paled instantly. _So, the baby’s dead in her belly?_

Death moved his head back and forth. “Not entirely. It might be alive for now, but the green glow somehow reserves it for me – you.”

Hermione will have a dead child… Harry bit his lower lips and stared at the table in front of him. How was that possible? How could something like that happen to her? She was the most caring person, Harry had ever met! And now her baby wasn’t going to make it? He needed to do something!

“You really shouldn’t, Paruluum.” Death said and shook his head. “The Green Glow of Death can’t be changed all of a sudden”, Death explained and shrugged his shoulders. “It’s something that’s simply a statement for you to know.”

_I can’t just let this happen. She needs to know!_

Death shook his head. “Really?” he asked bored. “And what do you think might happen if she knew her baby was probably dead? We don’t know for sure whether it’s already dead or simply dies during child birth.”

Harry shook his head, when Hermione walked back into the living room, tea in hand and cups floating after her. She sat down basically on Death, who quickly changed seats, sitting on an armchair on the opposite side of Harry.

He looked at the tea, thanked her and bit his lower lips. He needed to tell her. No matter what Death said: her green glowing belly made him uncomfortable and he needed her to know. Maybe then she could look for something for the baby to help it.

“Don’t you dare, Harry Potter. I’ve already told you that you shouldn’t include her into your knowledge” Death actually glared at him and if Harry hadn’t been so convinced that she could actually help herself and her baby, he would have been scared quite frankly.

 _I don’t need you telling me what I can and cannot do._ Harry turned to his friend and smiled softly. “So how’s the baby doing?”

She chuckled and smiled broadly. “She’s getting stronger and stronger every day. I felt her kick my belly yesterday and I already love her to pieces.”

“Do you know it’s a girl? Did the doctors confirm?” Harry asked curiously. He didn’t miss Argui Dawjan’s intense expression with which he was following this conversation.

Hermione smiled and filled some tea into her cup, as well as in Harry’s. “No, but I can just tell that it’s a girl.”

The room was filled with the scent of lemongrass tea and Harry breathed it in, before grabbing his cup and taking a sip. The hot beverage felt freeing in his throat and he looked at his best friend again. “What if it’s a boy?”

“Doesn’t matter. I like them already and I know I can do everything!” Hermione smiled broadly.

Harry couldn’t deal with it. He had to tell her. Since he had shielded his mind, he was partially sure that Death hadn’t read his mind this quickly. “Hermione, listen… I…” He opened his mouth to tell her about her dying baby, when no sound escaped.

Frowning, he looked at her and then Death who shook his head, clearly unhappy and slightly angry. “You, Harry Potter, cannot tell people about your fate of becoming the Master of Death. As long as I am holding this power, I will keep you from telling anybody. You might think it will help her to know about the…”

His important speech was interrupted by Hermione putting her hand on Harry’s knee, looking slightly confused. “Harry?”

“... death of her child” Argui Dawjan continued without giving Harry time to answer his best friend. “However, being Death means you need to stay quiet, hiding in the shadows and understanding that people don’t need to know everything. It would hurt them far too much and without this knowledge, they can be themselves without trauma.”

Hermione frowned at him, while Harry shook his head. “Are you okay, Harry?”

Shaking his head, Harry tried to tell her about the Glow of Death surrounding her belly, when once again, no sound escaped his mouth. _What’s going on, Death?!_

Argui Dawjan shrugged his shoulders, not happy with the situation Harry had started. “I have removed your voice for the following twenty four hours. Nothing will bring it back and if you decide to tell anybody else about you being the Master of Death or someone about to die, I will double the time period.”

_You can’t do that! It’s inhumane!_

Death seemed amused and laughed. “Then luckily, you are no longer human.”


	9. Chapter 9

Harry rolled his eyes, but didn’t say anything. Not because he didn’t want to, but because he literally couldn’t say anything. Argui Dawjan aka Death had basically stolen his voice, just like Ursula did with Ariel, and he couldn’t do anything. Falling in love, definitely wouldn’t give him his voice back.

“I have no idea who this Ariel-person is” Death said, sitting on a vacant chair in the examination’s room, “but I will give you your voice back in…” he checked the watch at the wall and grinned, “almost twenty two hours. You should be glad I didn’t take it away forever.”

 _Why on earth did you take it away for a short amount of time then?_ Harry frowned and shook his head.

Death laughed and shrugged his shoulders. “You were about to tell your friend that her baby wouldn’t survive. You wanted to give away your secret and I cannot let you do this. We’ve been over this countless times today.”

Glaring at the young man with white blond hair, Harry bit his lower lips. _I’ve always shared everything with my friends. If not with Ron then with Hermione, she’s the best at keeping secrets._

Argui Dawjan shook his head and grabbed an empty sheet of paper, looking at it and putting it back. “Not if her own baby would be at risk. Harry Potter, I’ve been trying to tell you this all day long: If people are personally involved, they grow irrational.”

Before Harry could continue his conversation with Death, the doctor walked in. Harry sighed. His doctor had been the white haired wizard with no beard (even though it would have fit his image) and the grin of an old man who had done something he considered wild. It was the same wizard ever since he had started Auror training - he had visited St. Mungo's at least twice a week until Ainsworth had told him that being an Auror is about being careful, not running head first into danger - without thinking.

Behind his doctor, a few people had followed him. First of all, Hermione (who had dragged him to St. Mungo’s rather quickly after he had lost his voice), followed by Ron and… Malfoy? Quickly averting his gaze, Harry stared at his best mate, not wanting to look at the person he desired nor at the person whose belly was probably still glowing green.

“This just got interesting!” Death smirked and sat up straight, looking at the Slytherin. Harry rolled his eyes and would have loved to tell Argui Dawjan to go away and do whatever, but he didn’t have any voice.

Malfoy turned to the doctor and smiled politely. They seemed to be in the middle of a discussion. “And so, I’ve been exposing Auror Potter to pure magic for three…”

He couldn’t finish, as Hermione turned to him, clearly unhappy with this information. “You did what? Why would you do something like that? It’s very dangerous.”

Ron stepped between her and Malfoy. “It’s okay, Hermione. They had to do that for the investigation. It wasn’t even that long.”

“As I’ve been saying” the Slytherin started again, ignoring the Gryffindors completely. “He has been exposed to pure magic for three minutes and seventeen seconds. The figures show a little pressure to change its way, but since we’re talking about Harry Potter, I’m not surprised.”

The doctor nodded and looked down on his board, while Hermione and Ron were still arguing, though taking it outside by now. Malfoy nodded at Harry, which was even more confusing and Death yawned, putting his feet onto the table.

“And now it’s boring again.”

_Why don’t you go back into your own realm? I’m sure there’s a lot to do there._

Argui Dawjan smirked. “Actually, there is. However, I do like to watch and teach you how to work with the power you’ve got. And right now I’m looking over you so you can’t just tell or rather write your friend about her baby.”

Nodding, Harry looked back at the blanket over his legs. Hermione had placed it there so he would be comfortable and… maybe she had thought it would help him in all of this.

“Don’t worry Potter, pure magic can have a lot of side effects. Losing one’s voice is one of them. It’s only temporary and should be back within a day” Malfoy explained and the doctor got into all the details of how something like that could have happened. Harry only listened with one ear.

If they knew that a certain Argui Dawjan had done this, they would have never tried to look at all of this. Death laughed loudly. “Yes, they wouldn’t look at something like this, but they would make you responsible for killing those five people while trying to save your friend Ronald Weasley.”

 _Shut up, Death. I’ve suffered through enough today. I just want to go home now._ Harry closed his eyes and nodded to show his doctor that he had been listening to him.

he suddenly felt something pushed into his hands and looked down to see a notebook in his hands. As he looked up, Draco smiled weakly and Harry felt butterflies in his stomach, smiling softly.

The Slytherin hesitated, but explained what he wanted him to do. “Please tell me and the doctor everything you can remember. Don’t worry, I won’t tell people.”

Harry hid a smirk and watched as Death got to his feet and walked over to him. He looked slightly threatening and didn’t have to say anything. Harry knew now that he really shouldn’t be writing something down concerning Hermione.

> I’ve been trying to research pure magic, since I’ve never really heard about it and went to visit Hermione for some information. When I tried to tell her about it, I don’t know what happened, but I couldn’t finish my sentence.

Malfoy read through it and gave it to the doctor who nodded and left the room again, promising to get some medicine. Now, only the Slytherin and Harry were left. The latter was fussing with his clothes, not really able to look Malfoy in the eye.

“I’m sorry for putting you into this kind of situation, Potter, I hope you understand.”

Death smirked and turned to Harry. “I like him. You two would make a great couple.”

 _What?! You must be kidding me! I’m not going to be a couple with him! I don't even think he's gay! Thanks for the heads up, though._ Harry forced himself not to roll his eyes and turned to Malfoy, nodding.

Apparently, the Slytherin felt extremely bad, since he looked at the floor, talking once again. “You see, I’m under immense pressure, since Ainsworth’s trying to cut our department. And I just want to prove to him that we are important to all of this as well!”

Harry nodded again, turning to his notebook and writing down a few things.

> Don’t worry, Malfoy. Ainsworth told me the same. He can’t cut both Aurors and Passive Aurors; that would be suicide on his part. In my opinion, he just wants to light a fire under both of our departments’ arse. I’m sure he’s not going to do anything.

Malfoy read through the note and nodded weakly. “I’d still rather like if he wouldn’t try and do it like that.”

 _Well, I’d rather have a voice and talk to people_ , Harry thought and sighed.

“Harry Potter, you did that to yourself” Argui Dawjan smirked and leaned at the window sill, crossing his arms over his chest. “If you hadn’t tried and get your friend in on your secret, you would still be talking now.”

This second, the doctor returned with a few vials. He told Harry to take two of those each time he would eat something. It should help heal his voice. Death was laughing loudly through his explanations and made it hard for Harry to understand all of it. He also didn’t have to understand anything: his voice was going to return no matter what. It wasn’t the pure magic that had taken it away, but Death.

Malfoy had nodded and disappeared, when Hermione and Ron had come back inside and help Harry over this problem. He had only told them (written them) not to worry and that he would enjoy a very late dinner. Tomorrow, he would stay away from work and ‘heal’ his voice. Not that he’d needed to, but he’d rather stay at home than work silently.


	10. Chapter 10

Hermione and Ron had understood that he really didn’t want to go back to work (even the next day and since it would then be Thursday, not even on Friday…), brought him home – followed by Death – and left again, telling him that they would visit again the very next day or on the weekend. And so, Harry was left with the deafening silence of his own house surrounded by... Death. Quite literally.

 _So, what do we do now?_ Harry asked and looked around in his kitchen. He found Death sitting at the table, looking a little bored.

“Now, I will tell you about two more Glows of Death” he started and sat up straight again. He placed his hands carefully on the surface and nodded. “You know red as the normal one. Green is for infants – not born yet. You can’t change those. The thing you also cannot change is black. The black Glow of Death means that this person is cursed. It could be a very old curse or a new one – however, they are very difficult to track down and not worth your time.”

_Wait, so you’re saying I can’t change them, but theoretically, if I were to find the original caster, I could make them remove the curse?_

Death groaned. He sounded as if he was incredibly disappointed by Harry’s question. “Harry Potter, you don’t understand the work Death has to do. Black Glows of Death are too complicated to undo. They are meant to die, so we let them die. If it was a family course and they die early, at least no children will get that exact curse.”

Harry just wanted to argue again, when Death raised his eyebrows and shook his head. He held up his index finger as if he was threatening him. “The only Glow of Death you are allowed to meddle with is the red one, Paruluum. This means that fate thinks it would help this person and the others around them if this person was dead. However, you can choose whether or not to actually let them die. Once you’ve gotten to the level I am, you can also choose who you’d like to kill.”

Sighing, Harry made tea and slumped into the kitchen chair at the table. The water was boiling in the kettle and at least got rid of some silence. _So, what you’re saying is that you can basically decide if you want to kill someone? I don’t want that! Why would I want the choice to kill someone?!_

Argui Dawjan shrugged his shoulders. “It’s the job. You’re job as well, actually. As Aurors you get to choose whether or not you’d want to kill the person attacking you.”

_But that’s different._

“How?” Death frowned. Though, it seemed as if he hadn’t meant it that sincere, simply wanted Harry to answer it so he could say something against it.

He got up thoughtfully and walked over to the kettle, which was screaming by now. He poured it over his apple cinnamon tea and leaned at the kitchen counter, looking at Death. His mentor didn't seem fazed with any of this and looked at him somehow curious. 

Now it was Harry’s turn to shrug his shoulders. _I don’t know. But I’m defending my life while I’m out on missions. As Death you simply do whatever and make this person bound to die. That’s not the same._

This statement seemed to have surprised Death and he narrowed his eyes in thought. “I see your point. But think of it as follows: If I were to not kill anybody – people would die anyway, because more people means less food for everyone. So, I need to keep this balance of dead and alive people.”

Harry shook his head. _I don’t want to kill people!_

He had already killed one person – Tom Riddle. However, it was necessary, because he was about to kill everyone at Hogwarts. Why would he like to go out and kill innocent witches and wizards?! And Muggles as well!

“Then stop thinking about it as ‘killing people’ but more of ‘saving their souls’. Some people have lived through so many dark days that they might feel happy for once if you get to meet them.”

There was a pregnant pause and Harry could just see that Death seemed to realize something was amiss. He placed the tea he had in his hands on the kitchen counter and rolled up his sleeve. Several differently shaped and sized scars on his forearm appeared in the light of the sun shining through the window. They were almost silvery and long healed. But they reminded Harry of his dark past.

 _You think dark days such as I had? When I found my uncle’s razor blade and decided to put it to good use? I had bad days; I know what it feels like. You’re not even human. How can you say that people who have lived through bad days can only be happy in death?!_

Harry was now practically fuming. If he could have hit Death with something, he would have thrown his cup of tea at him. However, he was somehow sure that he couldn’t get Argui Dawjan that way.

 _I have spent_ years _being tortured by my supposed loving family. I’ve lived in a small cupboard under the fucking stairs. I cleaned and worked my arse off and you come here and tell me that humans who have spent dark days by themselves are happy to die?!_ He stood up, putting both his hands on top of his head, clinging to his hair as if that was the only stable thing in his life.

Argui Dawjan seemed unfazed by Harry’s emotional outbreak. This only brought more blind rage to the surface and he basically started yelling in his own head. And he wished he could have been screaming in real life. _I didn’t want to die! I wanted to live and to be happy, find my way through this fucked up game of life and…_

“Yet, you still walked into the Forbidden Forest being ready to die.” Death had spoken quietly and Harry stopped dead in his tracks. His hands fell out of his hair and to his side.

Yes, he had walked into the forest, ready to die. But it was different. He needed to die so that Voldemort’s Horcrux could finally be destroyed. That was the only reason he went in there.

Death shook his head. “I don’t think it was the only reason, Harry Potter. I think you were ready. You felt that life had nothing else to offer you. Only once you reconnected with your old Headmaster did you realize that maybe – maybe – there was hope for you too. So don’t tell me you never wanted death, because I know you, Paruluum, and I know that it was an option for you in this forest.”

Both were quiet again. Harry was thinking about whether or not this man or rather Death actually had a point and Argui Dawjan probably following all of his thoughts. Did he really go there to die? Was that his plan all along?

He had accepted that he needed to die. That was why he had gone in there. However, he had said his goodbyes to Hermione and Ron. Neville knew what he had to do – kill the snake. He hadn’t intended on surviving this. In fact… he had been relieved by the time Voldemort had cast the spell. He was finally gone from this earth…

“You see, Paruluum? Death welcomes you, we don’t pick and choose people, we accept everyone. Life is different for all people and I know it was hard on you. If I could I would have made it easier, but some deaths – Lily and James Potter – were fate. And fate is something no one should touch” Death spoke again. He seemed to be a concerned mother.

Harry sighed and looked at his scars. He had always made sure to cover them whenever someone was close. The first thing he did in the library in their first year was looking for a book about scar cover-ups. He was sure that Pomfrey had seen them, but she had never mentioned it. Some topics were just difficult to talk about.

Argui Dawjan leaned back in his chair and smiled at him. “I thought your friends knew everything about you – Hermione Granger in particular.”

 _Apparently, they don’t. I didn’t even tell Ginny. And I’m not sure how my children would handle seeing my scarred forearm._ Harry was much calmer than before. It seemed as if he had needed this emotional break out to get back into his own mind. He grabbed his tea again and sipped at it for a while, not really into taking a big gulp.

“If you tell them about your childhood, they might understand. Your oldest is one year away from finishing Hogwarts – he’ll understand.”

Harry shook his head. _They won’t hear about that. It was hard enough that their mother died two years ago. I’m not going to give them more burden and tell them about my childhood._

Death nodded softly and smiled warmly. “Well, if you do need to talk to someone about it – you know where to find me.”


	11. Chapter 11

“Finally!” Harry breathed out this word as the clock hit seven and he felt Death’s hand loosen around his throat. “That took forever.”

He fell back into the couch and groaned. Well, it looked as if he couldn’t tell Hermione about her baby dying. He also couldn’t’ tell her about him being ‘the Master of Death’. Though, she already knew about it, but she didn’t know what it meant. Not that Harry knew everything about it by now.

Getting back onto his feet, Harry walked into his kitchen and opened the fridge, hoping to find something to eat except Pizza from yesterday. That wasn’t the case, so he grabbed it and turned around to find a visitor at his kitchen table.

“Damn you, Death!” Harry called out, while he let the Pizza fly towards the sky, but caught it rather quickly with his magic. “Why are you here? I know that I’m not supposed to tell Hermione anything. And I won’t. But I can’t live like this forever, I hope you understand.”

Argui Dawjan nodded, but shrugged his shoulders. “I have infinite time, Harry Potter, I hope _you_ understand.”

Before Harry could say anything, his fireplace lit up and Ainsworth walked through. Harry widened his eyes – it wasn’t every day that the Head Auror would come to see him directly, especially outside of the Ministry. There was an inside joke around the office that Ainsworth would live in the Ministry. What concerned Harry was that Ainsworth had a direct line to his very home. If his children were here, and someone used the Head Auror's fireplace, they could end up here and... do bad things. He needed to check this once Ainsworth was gone again.

“Auror Ainsworth, how may I help you?” Harry asked, mentally setting a reminder to close the fire place when he was having a discussion with Death. Argui Dawjan who still sat on the kitchen chair smirked when he had quiet definitely read his thought.

The bald Head Auror who was definitely too old for his job held out a small envelope. “I have a very important new mission for you. However, you do need to change partners for this.”

Harry had just wanted to grab the envelope, when he shook his hand and retracted his hand. “I’m sorry Auror Ainsworth. I have made it clear since the beginning that I’ll work with Ron Weasley only. I’ve tried with others already, but all of them get blinded by my fame.”

He remembered the time he had followed a huge black market tip into an abandoned stable. They had run into a trap, but instead of helping him, his partner had basically told Harry to show them what he had gotten. They barely made it out alive and since then, Harry had never worked with anybody else. This experience wasn’t something he had wanted to repeat.

“I wouldn’t be afraid of that, Mr. Potter. This is your mission, you’ll start on Monday at seven. Glad to see your voice is working again” Ainsworth said, placed the envelope on the table and left through the floo again, without giving Harry the time to ask more questions.

Harry rolled his eyes, but grabbed his envelope, heading back into the kitchen. As soon as he had reached it, Death yawned. “Did you remember to close your fire place?” he asked amused and laughed loudly, when Harry threw the letter onto the table and walked back outside, closing his fire place with strong magic. It was stronger than usual and Harry was somehow sure it had something to do with his magic having changed.

When he entered the kitchen again, Death had disappeared again. Harry shook his head and looked at the mission inside. It was an undercover mission into the Neo Death Eater’s territory. Basically, right into the middle. Harry was supposed to change his identity and start his change tomorrow morning at seven. His new partner for this mission was… Malfoy.

“Fuck” Harry swore under his breath and rolled his eyes. It did make sense and yes Ainsworth was right: Malfoy was not going to be blinded by his fame, but he’d rather do a mission with Ron. Well, Malfoy was probably the vital part of this undercover mission and he was sure that the Slytherin wasn’t going to disguise himself. The Prophet had been writing a lot of stupid and fake articles about Malfoy’s true loyalty. If he were to present himself to the Neo Death Eaters, they would probably agree to accept him into their little club very quickly. Harry only needed to get his own feelings under control. He was under no circumstance going to show any affection towards the blond wizard.

Time to pack: Harry walked over to the little safe behind a magical painting of his father and his friends as well as his mother. He opened the safe and grabbed his Invisibility Cloak as well as the Elder Wand. Undercover missions were always hard and he liked to have at least a little more help from Death himself.

“Actually, you can have me as your guide down there” a voice interrupted the silence in the house. Well, for everyone outside it must have still sounded as if nothing had happened, but Harry had heard it.

He turned around and saw Argui Dawjan sitting on a chair, idly browsing a magazine. “And where did you go?”

Death shrugged his shoulders. “Someone important died and I wanted to see whether or not she could use some help. It turns out… bitches will stay bitches in death as well.”

“That’s not very nice of you to say.” Harry rolled his eyes.

Laughing, Argui Dawjan got up and carelessly threw the magazine onto the table. “I really couldn’t care less. She got away from me twice and the third time, when an assassin was actually hired to take her out, I couldn’t wait for it. Turns out, she was sick that day and missed her Death Day again. This has been going on for twenty years! I actually hate her.”

Harry shook his head, unable to believe what he was hearing. “You’re talking about people! How come your empathy is so non-existent? You don’t really look like Death but the actual Devil.”

“It’s not much difference, to be honest. You’ll understand once you deal with people like her.” The personification of Death held out a small emblem which was the snake swallowing its own tail. “This is the Ouroboros and she had gotten it somehow. Its function is pretty much like the Invisibility Cloak but less obvious. It helps you get away from every time I, Death, want to get hold of the people. She had one of those.”

In the evening sun, this emblem was shining silvery and golden with a red skin on top of the snake. It looked absolutely stunning and Harry would have loved to hold it himself, but something in him told him that he probably needed to wait a few more years until Death trusted him with such a thing.

Argui Dawjan chuckled. “You are right, Harry Potter. These Ouroboros are very powerful and you will get one every time you get more powerful. As soon as you have passed the Paruluum state you’re in currently, you will get one of these to give to whomever you’d like or to keep them around.”

He hid the emblem in his old looking coat and pointed to the letter in Harry’s hands. “Now, the undercover mission tomorrow will be dangerous, just so you now. I would like to get you into my realm and have you work your magic again. That way it might be less dangerous for your partners.”

Harry groaned, but agreed nevertheless. He needed this Death Magic to be under control if he wanted to go out into the field again, without hurting the people around him. And yes, last time went well, since Ron stayed alive but what would happen if this went down again and he accidentally also killed his best mate?! And what if Malfoy would find out about the magic? One time was a coincidence, but if it occurred again with Harry around, it started to look suspicious. He really didn’t want to be a weapon for other people again…

“Alright, so how do I get into your realm?” Harry asked and placed the letter with all the important information into a secret folder pinned to the bottom of the table.

Death smirked. “Go to sleep and I will await you in my realm.” With that he disappeared and Harry yawned. Having no voice had really messed with his day and he had gotten up at five in the morning, cleaning the whole house and deep cleaning the kitchen.

He stayed awake for a few more hours, getting ready for the mission tomorrow, when he finally went to bed at ten – still too early for him normally, but he wanted to get some more hours in with Death and learn how to control his Death Magic.


	12. Chapter 12

When Harry opened his eyes, he lay on the floor made out of volcanic rock and a lot of dust everywhere. He groaned and sat up, wiping dust and dirt from his clothes. Shaking his head, he ran his hand through his hair to get the pebbles out of it.

“Great place” Harry said and smirked, looking around. It was all grey in grey. Dead volcanoes everywhere and black, old lava disfigured the land. Somehow it had something endearing and Harry shook his head at this thought. He liked colors and human life way too much to be able to live here forever.

A voice sounded from somewhere and made Harry look up surprised. “It’s the Death Magic inside you that makes you like this place so much, Paruluum.”

The young man, surprisingly looking exactly the same as he had on earth, sat on a small hill of lava and smiled at him. Harry got up and walked over to him.

“Is this your actual appearance? Somehow I thought you would look like a skeletal figure. Maybe that’s just what people always told their children about Death in the Muggle world.”

Death smirked and shook his head. “Not at all. But I can have whatever personification I want. I do like this skin rather well, however, my real appearance would be something in between of a skeletal angel and a nightmarish monster.”

Harry nodded impressed. “Half human-like and half monster. Not bad.”

“Human?” Argui Dawjan tilted his head, before getting up and walking down the little hill. “Ah, you think angels look like humans… well, not exactly true, that is. Believe me you do not want to see my real appearance right now. I’ll show you in a few thousand years.”

Death pointed around and himself and turned back to Harry. “This is my realm of Death. It’s only for me. The place where the dead go are much nicer for human beings. I can show it to you once, but not today. Here is your hiding place and you can start reality as you please. For example, today, we don’t want there to be any magic for you to train and get your Death Magic up to speed.” He waved his hands in a simple gesture and Harry suddenly felt his magic rush away from him. “Done.”

“That’s amazing.” Harry could only wonder about how something like that could even exist. He also wanted to go and visit the other place and maybe see a few of his dead relatives and friends!

“Ready?” Argui Dawjan asked and looked at him interested. Harry nodded hesitantly, not really sure whether Death had read his mind or not.

The half-angel and half monster stood in front of him and told him to close his eyes and try and feel his magical core. “It should feel like a burning fire, a round ball of flames in your chest. Sometimes it’s all around you, but most of the time it’s in your chest.”

Harry tried hard to feel it and looked all over his body, when he found a warm energy source right on his heart. It seemed to flicker with every heartbeat, as if his own heart was giving it the power to burn something.

“Interesting” Death said quietly. “Your magic is much stronger than I had originally anticipated.”

“What do you mean?” Harry opened his eyes again and frowned at the man in front of him who was definitely deep in thought.

As if Harry’s attention had brought him out of his own thoughts, he looked up and narrowed his eyes. “It appears as if your magic gives your body energy.”

“Don’t you mean the other way around?” Harry asked and smirked. “I felt my heart beat somehow giving my magical core a pulse.”

Argui Dawjan shook his head. “No, Paruluum. Your magical core is producing a pulse, which your heart has started to act upon. It seems that when you died and your heart literally stopped beating, your magic got the upper hand. It’s now in control. Theoretically, you could stop your own heart for a few minutes without any repercussion whatsoever.”

“I can stop my heart?” Harry widened his eyes and thought of all the people he had heard had tried it. It was once in the TV and Uncle Vernon had laughed about it, right after finding Harry hiding behind a door and freaking out on whether it was some magical shit or not.

Death nodded. “You seem to be a much more powerful wizard that everyone had thought. With this it’s actually surprising that you didn’t kill your friend Ronald Weasley in this raid when you tried to save his life.”

Harry held his breath. All of this was something he had never thought possible. Talking to Death? Seeing people’s Glows of Death? Being one of the most powerful wizards? Maybe he was just dreaming…

He stared at Death, half expecting him to answer his thoughts and to maybe tell him that he wasn’t dreaming. After a good while, Harry frowned and thought that maybe he was indeed dreaming, when Death seemed to notice him staring.

“Is something the matter, Paruluum?”

Harry raised his eyebrows. “Aren’t you going to tell me that I’m not dreaming after having read my mind and…”

Argui Dawjan interrupted him and smirked. “Oh, I can’t read your mind in here. This is _your_ hiding place, Paruluum. You can be free here, including so powerful that not even Death itself can have a power over you.”

“Amazing” Harry whispered and looked around again.

“But” Death started and smirked. “You’re not dreaming if that was your question.”

Harry rolled his eyes, but grinned as well. Death once again told him to close his eyes and try and tap into his own magic. This action would release the Death Magic. It was going to be scary and he was probably not going to feel well after he had done it, but it was necessary to learn how to deal with it.

And so, Harry followed what he said. He felt his magical core again and once he had it in clear view, he exhaled slowly and tapped into it. Magic rushed through his body like a wave of a warm and cozy feeling. It was like warm cocoa on an icy day outside, sitting by the fire.

Once this feeling reached his fingers, Harry opened his eyes and saw literal sparkles between his fingers. He turned them slowly and smiled at them. Reaching out, he thought of something simple – conjuring a chair. Out of thin air, a chair appeared and it looked cozy and comfortable.

“Very good!” Death praised.

Harry smiled broadly. “What can I do with this Magic?” he asked.

Argui Dawjan chuckled. “Literally anything you want. Would you like to see the future? Or travel around the world, visit Italy for the first time? Just tap into your Death Magic and you’ll be there.”

All of this sounded amazing, but Harry wasn’t sure. “Don’t’ you think there are side effects to this?”

“There always are, Paruluum. Especially since it’s Death Magic. No one has figured out exactly what these ancillary effects are. The theories range from immediate death for everyone present to shortened life spans” Death explained.

Harry frowned. “But in here, everything should be fine, right?”

Death nodded. “In theory. However, travelling into the future throws you out of this save heaven. As long as you stay in here, nothing can happen with your magic and the people around you.”

Sighing, Harry closed his eyes. “I need to get this under control before my children come home over Christmas. I will not expose them to Death Magic. Do you think that could be possible?”

“If you train every day, it shouldn’t be a problem. Just one more thing, before we stop for today: When you’re in here with me, you look as if you’ve died in the outside world. Which is why I’d like you to come here during the night. It won’t scare your friends to death.”


	13. Chapter 13

Seven o’clock inside the Ministry was just far too early for Harry. Well, for almost everyone. Especially on a Monday. Only a handful of people walked through the hallways and most of them looked as if they had stayed the night or the whole weekend.

Yawning, Harry went into his office first thing, placing his jacket and folder with the new undercover mission on his desk. He turned on his heels and headed to the deepest part in the Ministry – the undercover office. To get there, you had to show them your mission so they would let you in.

Harry groaned, stopped and turned around again. He was so sleepy that he had actually forgotten to grab the folder with the mission again. Great, so now he wasn’t only ten minutes late, but it could be up to half an hour. He grabbed the folder and raced down the halls, caught one of the elevators and travelled to the UO.

They let him in rather quickly and he walked into a room, where he was met with a very familiar face. “Dean?”

The other Gryffindor looked up and grinned from ear to ear. “Harry! Long time!”

“Since when do you work here?” Harry chuckled and they hugged, before separating again. Dean looked very good, he had a distinct fashion which seemed to somehow work in the Muggle World as well as surrounded by wizards.

Dean smirked and shrugged his shoulders. “I’ve worked here for five years. I just don’t like all the festivities the Ministry does, which is why you probably haven’t seen me around.”

Harry laughed and nodded. “I totally understand. However, the Ministry needs its poster boy in everything…”

“I’m not jealous, mate.” Dean grinned and motioned him to sit down on the chair. “I’ll do the first change on my own, I’ll show you how to do it yourself then, so you could basically do it in the field whenever you need to.”

Nodding, Harry looked into the mirror behind Dean, who grabbed his wand. “The one thing I can’t change is the scar. Well, I can change the shape and the place where it is, but I can’t undo it.”

Harry narrowed his eyes, but he couldn’t get an idea of where he would have wanted this scar, when Dean smirked. “You’re meeting Neo Death Eaters, right? How about a scar over your right eye? Maybe that will give you a little attention…”

“Isn’t the point of going undercover to _not_ get attention?” Harry asked before he laughed and agreed with Dean. Maybe they could tell them that an Auror did this and somehow get even more respect, so they could get up the chain and meet the leader as fast as possible.

There was magic surrounding him and Harry felt his face transitioning. It felt almost the same as when Hermione had thrown this spell at him when they had been on the run. He then felt this change all over his body and when he finally looked into the mirror, he widened his eyes.

In front of the mirror sat a dirty blonde, young man. His hair was definitely longer that Harry would have liked it and the scar was pretty evident on his eyes. It had something that Harry liked about it, but he didn’t really want to think about it. His body figure was a little taller and even thinner than before.

“Nice job, Dean.”

“I know” Dean grinned. He proceeded to tell Harry exactly how to undo the magic and re-apply the body mask. After half an hour, Harry left the UO as Cillian Wilson.

He had adjusted the wardrobe and gotten his hair styled. After that, he walked through the back end of the Ministry to the meeting room for everyone in an undercover mission. Malfoy was already sitting at a smaller table with the red velvet chairs.

“Malfoy” he greeted him and sat down. With the Slytherin’s narrowed eyes, Harry grinned and rolled his eyes. “I’ve changed my look, I’m Harry.”

The Slytherin nodded and grinned then. “You do look very different.” He looked at him a little closer. “Did you have to have the scar over your eye?”

Harry chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. “Well, it does look scary, I hope. That way I can scare away other people.”

“We’re also attracting a lot of unwanted attention…” Malfoy said it, but it didn’t look as if he had anything specific against it. In fact, after a few silent moments, he added: “But I think it’s working quite in our favor. Good choice.”

Nodding his thanks, Harry was a little surprised by how easy it was to talk to Malfoy. Being in another body made it somehow easier to be nice (and to ignore how much he wanted to... nope. Time to focus. Malfoy was easy to persuade, apparently. They sat together the whole day, completing their story until they finally made their way over to the actual part of the Ministry around nine at night.

Walking through Muggle London, Harry kept a close eye on Malfoy and they headed into an abandoned cinema. It was mere ruins and Harry had actually wondered why no one had seen it until now, when his Death Magic sensed a very strong Muggle repelling charm as well as a notice-me-not-charm around. It was so strong that he would have never gotten it without his newly established power.

Malfoy was leading the way, dressed in neatly Muggle fashion – a three piece black suit – and with a very good and strong step. He looked as if he belonged here, which made Harry feel a little uncomfortable, but he somehow trusted him with his life. That was something you should be able to do. And if something went awry, he had his old friend Argui Dawjan by his side.

They turned around a corner, when a man with huge muscles stood there, arms crossed over his chest. He stared at them for a second, until he seemed to recognize Draco Malfoy.

“Mr. Malfoy! An honor, really! Let me get one of our leaders!” he bowed slightly and called for someone.

Harry walked up next to Malfoy and felt him shudder slightly. He seemed to be under a lot of stress and it must have brought up some memories, he probably would have liked to forget. Harry could relate very much.

When he looked into the corner, he saw Death appear out of thin air. “Would you like me to help him?”

Nodding slightly, Harry motioned for Death to surround Malfoy with a little Death Magic. A few seconds later, he felt the Slytherin relax slightly and not a second later, the door was opened by a very shiny dressed wizard. He seemed to have absolutely no fashion sense, as he had sequined clothes in all colors, which honestly just looked ridiculous.

“I don’t believe it! Mr. Malfoy himself!” The man walked closer and smiled broadly. However, not before squealing like a little school girl. “My name is Taurean Hackney, Major of the Londoner Rebellion.”

Malfoy bowed back slightly, which seemed to be some kind of a Pureblood tradition. “Draco Malfoy. Auror spy and secret Death Eater.”

Hackney grinned and shook his head. “Not so secret, I would assume, Mr. Malfoy. It’s been all over the news; everyone was expecting you by now!”

“Well, I needed to soothe the Minister” Malfoy grinned and turned to Harry. “This is my associate Cillian Wilson. He saved my life in an Auror raid and got a… you know” he weakly pointed to Harry’s right eye, where the scar was showing. “Can’t really go to the healers, now can we?”

“It’s an honor to finally make them pay” Harry answered with a low growl at the beginning. He was surprised by how easy lying came to him.

Hackney smirked and motioned them to step into their little hide-out. Malfoy walked in first, which they had spoken about – Harry was supposed to be his minion. This would also work for their story and they had wanted to meet Malfoy for quite the while.

Looking around, Harry saw about two dozens of Neo Death Eaters, half glowing red. They worked on different spells, training and defending themselves; some were hurt and being put together by others. There was a small kitchen on the way to their meeting room where some tired looking men were drinking coffee.

The barely lit hallway made some shadows dance around Harry and Malfoy and he wasn’t sure whether or not they actually had a body they belonged to. However, as fast as they had arrived, they were gone again.

 _Hey Death?_ Harry looked at Malfoy only, trying not to awake suspicion. Argui Dawjan stood next to him rather quickly and walked with him through the hallway. _A Major is rather high in this organization, right?_

“Normally, no.” Death chuckled. “However, the idiot in charge here had no idea how the military range thing works, so for the Neo Death Eaters, he’s number three.”

Harry nodded slightly and glanced at the Major, glowing in dark red light. _We’ll end up killing a lot of them, aren’t we?_

Argui Dawjan nodded. “Let’s just hope that you can get a little bit of information out of them before that happens.” With that, Death disappeared into the shadows again, but his presence was still here, which made Harry feel slightly better.

In the end, they entered a small room, where Hackney turned around and motioned for his own minions to close the door. Harry felt magic being stripped out of the air, as they closed the door. If he hadn’t felt this in the other realm with Death, he would have had no idea of what was happening. Malfoy looked like that.

“Now” Hackney smiled at them, as if nothing bad was about to happen. “Let’s talk business.”


	14. Chapter 14

Argui Dawjan, the personification of Death, appeared inside the room and sat down on the table. Harry pretended to look around and checked in on his facial expression. He looked very serious. And remembering how almost a third of the people down here had a red glow around them, Harry was sure that something rather bad was going to happen.

At least Malfoy wasn’t surrounded by the Glow of Death. The same could not be said by Hackney, the Major of the Londoner Rebellion, who stood inside this small Interview Room with them. His glow was dark red, almost like blood and even pulsated a little.

“The pulsation means that his death isn’t certain yet. He could die depending on what he chooses” Death explained and yawned after that. “Usually, they die anyway.”

“Sit, my friends” Hackney smiled at them and motioned towards the table, where Death sat. Malfoy walked over and Harry followed soon after. “I’ve heard that the Ministry sends Undercover Agents into well known places to look for us. So, how do we know you’re not actual Aurors?”

Before Malfoy could say something, Harry answered already. “Oh, Mr. Malfoy is a real Auror! However, with the way the Ministry treats him and other known Death Eaters, do you really think his loyalty belongs to these people? For the longest time, they have…”

“Cillian!” Malfoy interrupted him and Harry rolled his eyes, visibly annoyed. Malfoy shook his head, before he started to explain himself. “I am an Auror. And I have been fighting for the rights of Death Eaters since I’ve started there. The Ministry doesn’t care. They just want us gone. I think it’s time to show them what we can do.” He sounded almost dangerous, as if threatening to kill everyone who would come into contact with him.

Hackney nodded and seemed to believe their little story, with a little help from Harry’s fake emotional outburst. Death agreed with this assessment, though still seemed a little on edge, which was weird for this all-powerful Master.

Argui Dawjan explained quickly what was bothering him. “They took away all the magic here. Your Death Magic can’t handle too much of this magic-free environment. If you cannot fix this in about ten minutes, it will break free.”

Great. As if they hadn’t had enough pressure on themselves, Harry would also probably literally explode in a few minutes. That was really going to make his day…

“Well” Hackney held out his hand. “I do believe you; however, I can’t go blind, so I would like to test both your wands for this.”

Malfoy hesitated for a second, before giving him his wand, while Harry gave up his rather quickly. He did have a back-up wand and if anything were to happen, the Death Magic in his magical core could bring them out of here. Maybe even alive.

Death shook his head. “I wouldn’t count on that, Paruluum.”

While Hackney left the room, Harry leaned back in his chair. _Make sure to follow him, Death. If anything happens, can you report back to me?_

Argui Dawjan sighed, but nodded and left quickly. Meanwhile, Draco had started to shiver again. Being under so much stress made him visibly anxious. Harry would have loved to surround him with a little calm Death Magic, however, he had never done it to an actual human being and he wasn’t going to try it on Malfoy.

Instead, he started talking about the newest shop in Knockturn Alley, which had a few Dark Items, but infused with Light Magic and partnered with a tracer from the Ministry. Not that Harry would be talking about the tracer, but he knew that Malfoy had a close eye on this shop. So talking about this shop should work even under pressure and while they were most likely watched.

After a few quiet moments, Death appeared and shook his head. Harry grabbed the Invisibility Cloak and threw it without any warning over Malfoy, after pulling him to his feet and dragging him to the corner furthest away from the door. The Slytherin was just about to complain, when Harry put his hand over the other man’s mouth.

The door was ripped open and two red glowing spells were thrown at the desk, where the two of them would have sat if Death hadn’t warned them. Malfoy stiffened and widened his eyes. Harry got hold of the Elder Wand and disarmed the wizards standing there. He then knocked the two of them out and they hurried along the corridor.

“If they see you, Malfoy you can forget about going undercover again” Harry said and motioned down the hall, where three wizards ran towards them. “You stay under it, I fight them.”

Malfoy shook his head and held him back from revealing himself. “Potter, don’t be ridiculous! You could die!”

Harry shook his head and pushed himself out of the Invisibility Cloak, throwing some spells at the people running towards him. Soon, a fight broke out, spells being yelled, fire rushing through the hide-out. Harry felt a few death spells being thrown into his direction, he ducked away from all of them and they hit fellow Neo Death Eaters.

Behind his back, he felt magic flash through and another wizard was disarmed, which made Harry mutter a “thanks”, before dueling a dark red glowing Neo Death Eater. He felt a sudden rush of power through his body and ending in the wand.

“It’s the Death Magic” Argui Dawjan warned him and Harry blasted a short “Expelliarmus!” which threw the Neo Death Eater across the room and impaled him on an overhanging branch of broken off foundation.

Hackney appeared at the door and Harry accio’d the two wands, just now realizing that Malfoy had used wandless magic to defend him. He pocketed Malfoy’s wand and the Elder Wand, not wanting it to fill him up with Death Magic that he couldn’t handle.

The pulsating red Glow of Death around Hackney had disappeared into a quiet, dark red glow. Death looked as if he had wanted to be praised for calling it; however, Harry had other things to think about. He was surrounded by five Neo Death Eaters, everyone waiting for something to happen.

“So, you and Mr. Malfoy wanted to find a connection into our organization and…” Hackney started, wordlessly throwing a spell at Harry, which he dodged quite easily.

Harry chuckled grimly and shook his head. “Your Mr. Malfoy had no idea I was trying to get close to you and your friends. He’s just some stupid former Death Eater who thinks the world belongs to him. As a matter of fact, you think so too.”

One of the wizards on Harry’s right basically screamed an attack spell, to which Harry cast a Protego, not caring about these people. “How dare you!” someone else yelled and he felt a rather powerful magical spell cutting the air behind his back. However, Malfoy had cast the protection spell, which Harry had felt a few seconds prior.

“You think you are powerful, aren’t you? You and your fucking leader…” Harry was quiet for a mini-second, thinking about how best to get the name of him. He remembered how this Major had called himself Taurean Hackney and how this first name wasn’t the actual name in the file. “Tyndall.”

The noise level plummeted and Hackney looked at Harry as if he had just said _the_ name. Apparently, his guess had been right.

 _That was easy_ , Harry thought and frowned slightly.

Death, who had leant at a column, smirked slightly. “This, Harry Potter, is another trait you will receive as the Master of Death. The logical examination of all the facts put before you. In this case, you will pretty soon also find the actual name of the Neo Death Eater leadership.”

Well, Death wasn’t kidding, however, it was even easier than Harry thought. Three wizards around him looked as if he had just cursed them all and one next to Hackney shook his head.

“How do you know about Addison Tyndall!?”

Hackney closed his eyes, as if someone had just told him something very bad and he needed to concentrate on not killing them. Or something around that, since the next spell, was meant for the man giving up the leader’s name.

“Avada Kedavra!”

The wizard opened his eyes, but before he could probably get around what just happened, he dropped dead.

Shaking his head, Hackney turned back to Harry. “Well, Mr. Wilson – if that even _is_ your real name…”

“Oh, it is” Harry interrupted him, narrowing his eyes. “Why would I give this idiot Malfoy a fake name?! I was going to make him pay for being a Death Eater.”

Hackney nodded… impressed? “Mr. Wilson it is then. Since you now know our secret, let me give you the ‘welcome wagon’ to our organization.”

Harry rolled his eyes. He pocketed his wand, as Hackney started to say the death spell. Argui Dawjan suddenly stood up and shook his head. He was just about to say something, when Harry touched the Elder Wand. Death rushed through his body and extended all around him, knocking out Malfoy and exploding the Neo Death Eaters around him.


	15. Chapter 15

“Did you have to do something like that, Paruluum?! You have no control over this kind of magic!” Death chided him and shook his head.

Harry sighed and shook his head, while blood spilled from his forehead. All over the floor were some intestines and blood. Harry could even see the Invisibility Cloak, since there was blood on the air. He walked over and grabbed it, revealing a knocked-out but otherwise unharmed Draco Malfoy.

“I’m sorry, Argui Dawjan, but they were probably going to kill me.” He took out the Elder Wand, turning to Death. “If I clean with the Elder Wand, there shouldn’t be any trace on the environment, right?”

Death rolled his eyes, clearly unhappy with what had happened by blowing up the Neo Death Eaters, but agreed with what Harry had thought. So, he quickly went and removed all the blood as well as the bits of people from around and everything else that could show something. Finally, he cleaned the area with the Elder Wand and put it away, no later than Malfoy getting his conscious back. Walking up to the Slytherin who jerked up, Harry gave him his wand back and helped him getting up.

“What happened?” Malfoy asked and looked around, though he couldn’t seem to figure out what happened.

Harry sighed. “Someone blew up a part of the building, Hackney raced down the hall and I tried to get them. The others… no idea what happened to them. They weren’t here, when I came back to look for you. Are you okay?”

“Yeah” Malfoy shook some dust from his clothes. “Did you get Hackney?”

Thinking on what to say, Harry quickly pondered over the options he had: He could say that Hackney escaped; however, the Ministry wouldn’t let both of them out into the fields if he said that. If he was still out there, a lot of people would realize that Malfoy wasn’t the person who the Neo Death Eater thought he was.

In that case, it wasn’t a question on what to say. “Hackney escaped into a room and by the time I got inside, he had swallowed a whole bottle of desert-rose serum. It was pure. I watched the bottle dissolve before I could save it.”

Malfoy sighed and shook his head. “So he’s basically dissolved by now. At least he couldn’t give us away, eh?”

They made their way out of the secret hide-out and while Harry made his way back into the Ministry, Malfoy called his team to look over the crime scene. For the next few hours, Harry kept working on some paperwork, going over reports from his own team and checking in on the work, the repair team made in the Auror Trainee Area.

After heading back to his office, it was well after Midnight. Actually, it was after one in the morning, and Harry sat down at his desk again. He put his head into his hands and closed his eyes for a few seconds.

Two minutes later, a knock at the door brought him out of his sleepy mind. “Potter.” Harry opened his eyes to find Malfoy standing there at the door. “I just came to tell you that you did a good job today. I’m curious though: How did you figure out about Tyndall being the leader?”

Harry shrugged his shoulder. “To be honest, I was just guessing. I thought that maybe Hackney had a reason for starting his first name with a T and the rest is just going through some old English Pureblood names starting with that letter.”

“Amazing guess work.”

Smirking, Harry nodded and got up. “You also did great, Malfoy. Ainsworth won’t be cutting our Department after this, I’m sure.”

Malfoy grinned. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he was promoting both of us to his personal bodyguards.”

“That would be a waste of good Aurors.”

The Slytherin agreed. “I wondered whether or not you’d want to come and have a drink with me?”

“It’s half past one.”

Harry looked at the clock at the wall, which he had decided to put up. Ron was too excited to have a ‘Muggle Time-teller’ on the walls that he had used a few minutes a day just to stare at it. All while Harry had laughed at him, since they did have clocks in the Wizarding World and Harry had not understood why this was so different than wristwatches.

“Well, how else can I be drunk all day, if I don’t start in the morning?” Malfoy asked and smirked, to which Harry responded with a laugh and agreed to go and have one drink. They needed to start tomorrow at twelve. Or rather… _today_ at twelve.

Grabbing his jacket, he thanked Malfoy for holding the door open for him and they silently walked through the quiet hallways, only their steps and the fabric echoing from the wide, black walls. As they reached the statue in the middle of the Ministry entrance, both walked to a fireplace to meet in the Leaky Cauldron.

At two in the morning, only some sleep deprived or passed out drunken wizards and witches were around. Harry walked into the building, spotting his friend from Hogwarts rather quickly.

“Neville!” he greeted the man behind the bar and hugged his friend.

“Where are the reporters? Harry Potter’s in the house!” Neville Longbottom pretended to be looking out the window very eagerly, before grinning at Harry. He turned to the other man and smiled as well. “And Draco Malfoy! The reporters will have a field day!”

Malfoy smirked. “I’m pretty sure the reporters are sound asleep, even if you tell them we’re here.”

“Yeah, not so famous anymore” Harry agreed and they sat down at the bar directly. “I’m glad that I can finally enjoy a somewhat normal life.”

Neville didn’t have to ask and quickly opened a beer for Harry and was just about to open a wine for Malfoy, when the Slytherin changed his usual order to Whiskey. Their friend complied quickly and poured him a generous amount. “Hard day?”

“You could say that.” Harry sighed and eyed the other Gryffindor while taking a gulp. He was looking very good. The stress which was probably visible on him had never gotten to Neville. Taking over the Leaky with his wife was probably a very good decision on his part. He did always have amazing stories to tell all of them. “How’s the family?”

Smiling broadly, Neville placed the whiskey carefully on the shelf behind himself. “Hanna’s doing great. We finally have enough money to buy that house we’ve always wanted! A little late, since almost all our children are at Hogwarts, but…”

Harry nodded. “Jeremy’s still at home, right?”

Neville laughed and stroked his hair out of his face. “And he hates it. Just _hates_ it.”

“He was one day short of being able to go this year, right?” Malfoy asked and took a sip of his whiskey.

“Yes. I mean, I did tell him, but he didn’t believe me. He even sent a letter to McGonagall!” Neville explained and grinned. “I would say, he’s a Slytherin for his eagerness or…”

Malfoy interrupted. “…a Gryffindor for his pure stupidity and stubbornness?”

Neville nodded, while Harry pretended to take mocked offence. “How dare you!”

Their little group laughed and Harry took another gulp of his beer. Neville grabbed a glass of water and turned to Harry. “And how are your children? They’re all at Hogwarts, right?”

Nodding, Harry placed his beer on the bar again. “Thelo’s almost done. He’s a little scared of his NEWT’s and I really can’t help him there. He’s doing NEWT’s in Ancient Runes, Arithmacy and Care of Magical Creatures. Those are just silly.”

Neville laughed, while Malfoy frowned at Harry. “Only three NEWT’s?”

“No” Harry shook his head. “But those are the ones I can’t help him with. He’s also doing Herbology, Alchemy, Muggle Studies and Potion.”

Malfoy nodded impressed. “He’s busy. Any goal he’s trying to reach?”

Neville laughed and answered in Harry’s place. “He wants to be the next Newt Scamander. His goal is to travel around the world and find as many unknown magical creatures he can find to fill a book as a famous Magizoologist.”

Harry sighed and shook his head. “It’s true.”

The Slytherin in their group smirked and seemed even more impressed. “Well, if he wants to publish a book, he’s already got the famous last name.”

“And middle name!” Neville added. “James Potter, the Magizoologist.”

“Alright, Neville. Let’s talk about Gracie, now, shall we?”

This made Neville laugh even louder and someone among the crowd of passed out drunken people yelled in their almost livable state to be quiet. Since Grace was in Thelo’s year, Harry had gotten to hear a lot about Neville’s first born daughter. Especially the fact that she had a new dream job every start of the term. Last year it was Potion’s Master. This year was Auror, however, since she had not taken Transfigurations in her NEWT’s, she could do this job.

Malfoy sighed. “Somehow I feel as if I’ve missed something by not having children” he shared and shrugged his shoulders.

“You know what you’ve missed, Malfoy?” Harry asked and rolled his eyes. “Not being able to close an eye for six years or was it eight? I can’t remember. Telling these little idiots to not forget the jacket, when you’re going out and guess what… they forget everything. Saving them from the height of an ‘evil’ tree ten thousand times, getting letters from McGonagall about how they have somehow corrupted a whole house into doing something stupid and giving them money for books which they end up spending on candy, so you have to buy the school books again, because it’s what they need.”

Neville and Malfoy were both laughing, while Harry rolled his eyes again. His children were just devious.

The other Gryffindor finally calmed down and stroked a tear out of his face. “Those are your children, Harry. Grace is very calm, even though she has no idea what she wants to do in the future. Winter is the nicest Slytherin I have met in my life – no offence, Malfoy - and…”

“None taken.”

Neville nodded at the Slytherin and continued. “And Jayvion is only a second year. He’s trying to get into the Ravenclaw Quidditch Team, he’s not going to try and follow your children’s path.”

Harry smirked. “First of all: Thelo’s the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain and Diana got into the Slytherin team as the youngest Beater ever last year. So, Jay should be following my children’s steps. Secondly: Jeremy’s going to be the rebel child, you know it.”

Malfoy agreed and pointed out: “If Jeremy gets into Gryffindor you have a child in every house, wouldn’t that be fun?”

Groaning, Neville shook his head. “I hope he’s going into Slytherin, at least they will be able to keep him in his place.”

The three of them kept talking about life and children for a few more minutes, before both Aurors bid goodbye, since it was now three o’clock and they both wanted to have slept at least six hours to go and meet Ainsworth at twelve today. Without many more words, they went separate ways after the goodbye.


	16. Chapter 16

Harry opened his eyes to find himself in Death’s realm. He groaned at sat up, shaking some dust out of his hair. Argui Dawjan sat on the floor, leaning against a former lava stream, now cold hard and black stone.

Looking up, the white haired man smirked. “Good evening, Paruluum. How was the rest of your night?”

“I wish I could have actually slept during this night. I’m rather tired, you know” Harry answered and tried to yawn for effect.

Death smirked and shook his head. “My realm doesn’t allow tiredness. Your body will feel fresh and new in the morning, while your mind is learning.”

“Great” Harry muttered under his breath and pulled his legs closer, into Indian style. “So, what am I learning? How not to act with Death Magic surrounding me?”

Argui Dawjan didn’t seem pleased with this answer. “I’m teaching you a few more Glows of Death. Tell me all you know about the ones I’ve already taught you.”

Harry sighed, but decided not to chance making Death angrier. “There’s the red glow, which is the normal one. If it pulsates, death isn’t sure to this person. The darker it gets the more imminent death is. I can change the fate of this person. Green is for unborn children – nothing I can do there. And what was the other?” Harry frowned and tried to remember the other color. “Black?” Death nodded and Harry explained what it meant. “Black glows mean that this person is cursed to die and I cannot do anything about it – theoretically.”

“Paruluum, you cannot change the fate of black Glows of Death.” Death rolled his eyes. “I have two more to teach you. One is orange and one is silvery. Do you think you can change these?”

“Before knowing what they stand for?” Harry asked and frowned once more. Death simply nodded and Harry sighed. “I guess I can’t change them.”

Nodding, Argui Dawjan seemed to be pleased by this. “An orange Glow of Death means that said person is _not_ meant to be saved. Fate has chosen them to die. We’ve talked about them already: your wife is among them.”

Harry rolled his eyes, but decided not to say anything. “Other people include your parents, since it started your story. And I would also include…”

“Death, I’ve understood. Thank you. Orange equals fate, unchangeable. What’s the silvery type?” Harry interrupted Argui Dawjan, not willing to hear about more people who had given their life for either him or any other friend of his.

The immortal being seemed to understand and changed the subject without questioning it. “The silver Glow of Death shows your best friends.”

It seemed as if frowning was going to be Harry’s thing this lesson, since he was doing it again. Ron wasn’t surrounded by a silver Glow of Death and Hermione neither. Death seemed to have guessed his train of thoughts, since he explained it quickly.

“Not your actual friends, Paruluum, but the ones you should make your friends, since they will be your constant companions. A silver Glow of Death means these people are immortals.”

Harry’s brain seemed to have stopped working, as he widened his eyes and tried to understand this. People could actually be immortals?

Death continued after a few moments. “Immortals are people who have made a living sacrifice to Life – another abstract being just like me. They need to give their own flesh and blood to gain the status of immortals. People you call Muggles have understood this as well, however, only a wizard can keep their sanity if they’re inside this immortal bubble for too long. And you can help them – if you choose so of course.”

It was clear to Harry, that this was too much for him to handle. He still couldn’t quite understand that there were people that would first of all sacrifice their children and secondly, want to be immortal. Once you were two hundred years old, wouldn’t it get boring?

Argui Dawjan seemed to understand that it had been too much for him to handle, so he granted him a little break and sent him back to his sleeping mind. Harry was happy about that, since it gave his dreams a lot of materials to work with, but also helped him wrap his brain around this matter.

The next morning, Harry hurried to the Ministry and arrived in Ainsworth’s office one second before Malfoy. Their boss was a little agitated and couldn’t sit still for a longer amount of time.

“We have nothing.” Ainsworth was pacing in front of Harry – who was extremely happy, but couldn’t show it – and Malfoy. They sat in the Head Auror’s office, being debriefed from their undercover mission. “No one seemed to have survived the bomb and we couldn’t find anything from Hackney.

Harry frowned, hoping that his reaction seemed believable enough. “Well, he had taken the desert-rose, Sir. Maybe it…”

“Potter, you don’t understand. None of the Passive Aurors could find even a drop of desert-rose. A human being can’t just disappear… are you sure you saw him?”

Nodding, Harry confirmed it. “I’m positive, Sir. I would watch him before, I saw him on the floor. I’ve also seen the bottle which dissolved a few seconds after I’ve seen it.”

Surprisingly, Malfoy jumped in to give a somewhat reasonable answer to this mystery. “Maybe Hackney wanted to send us on a wrong path and make a last statement.”

“Statement of what?” Ainsworth stopped in front of Malfoy, who narrowed his eyes slightly.

However, he didn’t let their boss scare him into not answering. “The meaning of ‘desert’ is to abandon a person or even an organization in a way that is considered treacherous and disloyal. The black rose, which is used in desert-rose means saying goodbye and death. It could mean…”

Ainsworth dismissed Malfoy’s explanation with a wave if his hand. “You’re thinking too deep again, Malfoy. Maybe that was all he had left.” Their boss did seem to have calmed down a bit. “Anyway, I’ve just called you here to tell you that nothing was out of control, except for Hackney missing, and our spies tell us that there was no talking about Malfoy having lost his status with Neo Death Eaters. The story that circles around the underground is that the two of you were out before it happened and that a certain Cillian Wilson was trying to fight them.”

Harry felt himself turning red and bit his lower lip, while Ainsworth looked at him with raised eyebrows. “Any further undercover missions concerning Neo Death Eaters are until further notice put on halt for three weeks. Malfoy” he turned to the Slytherin. “I’m putting you into the Auror’s department for the next two weeks, while Ron Weasley is on holiday.”

Malfoy clearly wanted to say something, but he swallowed it and nodded silently. With that, Ainsworth released them into the sweet freedom. After Malfoy settled into Harry’s office, both quietly worked on some paperwork for the rest of the day.

When it finally showed five o’clock, Harry couldn’t have been happier and left the office to go and visit Hermione and Ron on holiday, before they would both travel to Italy, to meet Hermione’s parents again.

Argui Dawjan appeared next to him, as he hurried along the busy hallways of the Ministry, following the flock of released workers towards the fireplaces.

“If you start telling them something about your abilities, I _will_ be taking your voice again!” he threatened to which Harry rolled his eyes.

_Don’t worry, Death. I’ve learnt from my mistakes. I won’t tell her about her baby._

Death shrugged his shoulders. “I’d still rather like to stay as close as I can.”

_Be my guest._

Harry arrived with his friends after fifteen minutes of stress around the fireplaces and basically fell into Ron’s arms.

“Hey mate! I’ve heard you had a somewhat successful mission, yesterday!”

Laughing, Harry shrugged his shoulders. “If you count Malfoy making up stories about the meaning of something meaningless and Ainsworth cancelling my alias, since I’ve been battling Neo Death Eaters as Cillian Wilson as a successful mission, then yes.”

Ron smirked and shrugged his shoulders. “You got Hackney, that’s successful. I’ve heard a few Aurors from UO have tried to get him for about five years now. And now look at you, trying to find the big bad and getting the evil out of the way!”

Hermione entered the room and smiled at Harry, hugging him tightly. “Stop talking about death and destruction! Our baby’s not going to like it!”

She kissed Ron who placed his hand on her belly. “Anything for her, darling. She’s going to be the baby of the family and I can’t wait for it.” He turned to Harry and smiled broadly. “You know we thought it was over, since we are in an age, where you know… women can’t really get babies anymore and then look at this amazing witch, getting another child!”

Harry chuckled. “Forty-one isn’t old, Ron.”

“Well” Hermione shrugged her shoulders. “The possibility of getting pregnant at forty is around forty percent. Three years later it’s only one or two percent. So, yes, being forty-one and getting another child is a wonder.”

The only thing Harry could do was smile weakly. He knew. He knew that this child wasn’t going to make it. And it pained him to see the happy faces of his friends, knowing nothing of their child’s fate.

“Watch it, Paruluum!” Death said from across the room, sitting on the grey armchair.

 _I won’t tell them. I already promised you, Death._ Harry hugged his friends and wished them a nice holiday in Italy and to give Hermione’s parents only the best wishes from him.


	17. Chapter 17

There was so much going on in the Ministry that Harry had to jump out of the way of some busy workers and Aurors three times alone from the two hundred feet walk from his own office to Ainsworth’s office. Malfoy was already sitting there, absolutely stunning looking even this early in the morning, folder in hand and looking very earnest down at the papers. It was really weird, especially since Thursdays usually weren’t that busy. However, there was an exception for everything…

Harry knocked at the open door and walked in quickly. His boss looked up and motioned towards the folder lying on his other chair. Harry grabbed it and opened it.

Ainsworth quickly started to explain. “There was a kidnapping at Hogwarts tonight. Two students are missing, a third apparently attacked by something and currently being treated in St. Mungo’s. The two missing students are Adley Yorke and Eileen Rowley.”

Frowning, Harry looked up, a sudden pain in his heart. “Please tell me that my daughter’s not the one in St. Mungo’s. Those are her closest friends!”

“Don’t worry, Potter. I would have told you immediately, if it was your daughter in St. Mungo’s. No, your daughter’s save at Hogwarts.” Ainsworth nodded at him. Since he was a father himself, he seemed to understand what Harry had just gone through. “Headmistress McGonagall’s awaiting you as soon as possible. There hasn’t been any other news, so look around and find those girls!”

Both Aurors nodded and stopped at their respective offices, grabbing supplies they would probably need for the investigation. Ten minutes later, they met at the official Auror Apparition point and apparated to Hogwarts, walking up the few steps to the front in a rather brisk pace.

McGonagall had probably felt them arrive, since she appeared at the front gates of the castle within a few moments, welcoming both of them rather quickly.

“Thank you very much for coming! I don’t want to waste any time; where would you like to start with the investigation?” she asked.

Harry motioned towards Malfoy. “We’ll probably separate for the first investigations. Auror Malfoy will check the initial abduction place while I will be interviewing witnesses. Could you bring us to the abduction place and ask the children who’ve seen something to meet us there?”

The headmistress nodded and walked them towards the black lake, where Harry felt a repelling charm. McGonagall took it down and gave them all the space they needed, before rushing off to get the witnesses. Harry stepped back and let Malfoy inspect the crime scene. He was the one doing that for a living, so he had the necessary means and experience to find them as quickly as possible.

Malfoy walked over it, looking out for something, before he ended up next to Harry again. “There’s no proof of any foul play. I’m not sure if this can be counted as a kidnapping, Potter.”

“What do you mean?” Harry frowned.

“Well” the Slytherin took out his wand and said some kind of spell which made footprints visible. There were four sets of old footprints and a few chaotic one’s which must have been the rescuers and then Malfoy’s freshest ones. “If there was a kidnapping, there should be more than four initial footsteps as well as some residual magic. There’s nothing. I can’t find anything.”

Harry frowned. He seemed to pick up something. Something very weird. However, before he could say or do anything, a voice called out to him and he turned around to find his oldest daughter running down towards him. Her longer brown hair was put up in a messy ponytail, while her yellow school uniform seemed to be rather messed up. She threw her arms around his neck and sobbed into his official Auror robe.

“Hey Kayja, it’s okay. It’s going to be okay, darling” Harry said quietly and held her tight, rubbing her back. “Were you here when it happened?”

Nodding, Kayja rubbed her tear-stricken red eyes and sniveled. Malfoy nodded at him and walked away, looking for some other things around the ground. Two more girls walked towards Harry. He recognized Odette Nott and Rachel Thomas.

The interview with these two girls didn’t give Harry anything to work with. They also had just seen it from the castle. They had seen someone running at the two arguing girls, but nothing else. The person having been with the three hurt girls had been Kayja. McGonagall brought the other girls back up to the castle, while Harry turned to his daughter.

“Kay, what happened?” he asked, carefully.

His daughter had tears in her beautiful hazel eyes, as she slowly started to answer. “I don’t know. We were… we were walking through the forbidden forest. Adley wanted to find the place where the spiders were, you know… from… when you were here and we…”

Harry shook his head. “Kay, didn’t I tell you not to go into the forest and didn’t all the professors say the same?”

“They did, but Sammy didn’t believe that this story about you was true, so we wanted to find proof. I mean, such a huge spider has to have some bones or something left over, right?” Kayja asked and stroked some tears out of her face. “We… we lost our way and before we knew it, we were just somewhere. And it was night. Eileen found something on the ground, like a stone or something and she could suddenly tell us how to get out of there.”

A cold shiver ran down Harry’s spine. As if to prove his suspicion, Argui Dawjan appeared and raised his eyebrows.

 _This is not going to be good, is it?_ Harry asked and tried his best not to look slightly scared and disturbed to his daughter.

Death shook his head. “You know very well what they’ve found. It wasn’t a kidnapping.”

Kayja sniffed again and bit her lower lip. “Once we were here, Eileen said she was talking to Paul, her brother who… you know, killed himself two years ago. That wasn’t possible, right? Well, Adley wanted to try it as well. Her grandmother died nine months ago and she couldn’t say her goodbyes. But as soon as she had that stone in her hand, she was all white. I don’t know why. She and Eileen started fighting for the stone. Sammy wanted to smooth down the differences; she got hit by some spell. I ran up to get McGonagall or just some adult who could get them apart and by the time we came back, Sammy wasn’t breathing and Eileen and Adley were missing.”

“Thank you, Kay!” Harry pulled her into another hug, which she seemed to need quite desperately.

By the time, McGonagall returned to bring Harry’s daughter up to the castle again, she seemed to have calmed down. Malfoy walked closer and shook his head.

“I cannot find anything that would suggest an abduction. Absolutely nothing.” He looked quite lost.

Harry rubbed his forehead and shook his head. He looked at Death and sighed. “That’s because it wasn’t an abduction.” He turned to the lake and walked closer, putting his wand into it. After a few seconds, he placed it on a parchment and analyzed the water with that.

> **The Great Lake**
> 
> Alternative Name: Black Lake
> 
> Location: Hogwarts Castle’s ground, Scottish Highlands, UK
> 
> Water type: sweet water
> 
> Temperature: -2°C
> 
> Diameter: 2600 feet
> 
> Magical portals to: Russia, Italy and Great Lakes – North America
> 
> Living Inhabitants: The Giant Squid, Merpeople, Grindylows
> 
> Dead Inhabitants: Adley Yorke, Hufflepuff 6th year, and Eileen Rowley, Ravenclaw 6th year

“Fuck” Malfoy swore when he had seen the parchment. He walked closer to the lake just in time to miss another point appearing on the parchment, which made Harry widen his eyes.

> Magical object: The Resurrection Stone

Harry set the parchment on fire and turned to Malfoy. “We need to go down there.”

The Slytherin shook his head. “You have no idea what you’re talking about, Potter! How much water do we have to go through until we find them?!”

“You’re forgetting something, Malfoy: I’ve already been down there once. The Merpeople are not exactly friendly, but I’m sure if we tell them that we want to take the dead away from their kingdom, they’ll show us” he offered.

Looking over to Death, he nodded and added. “I’m also rather sure that if you tell them you’ll take the Resurrection Stone with you, they’ll give it rather quickly. From what I’ve gathered from these creatures, they hate Death even more than they hate rule breaking.”

 _Great favors for me._ Harry rolled his eyes while he shrugged his shoulders.

Malfoy groaned and turned around to Harry. “Are you sure you can get us to them?”

“Almost ninety percent certain.”

Nodding, the Slytherin threw him something and grabbed the same item as well. “Suit up, we’re going under water.”


	18. Chapter 18

Death approached Harry as he suited up and made his way towards a softer shore. “I cannot follow into water, Paruluum, Angels aren’t susceptive to water.”

Harry frowned as he walked alongside Argui Dawjan and closely behind Malfoy. _I thought Fallen Angels only hated Holy Water._

“That’s a myth, Harry Potter. In early days, priests just took Holy Water no matter what and it then looked as if we would only hate that. In reality, we can’t go near water. I’d rather burn in an eternity of hellfire.”

 _Well, you’re Death, so that wouldn’t hurt you._ Harry smirked despite the dire situation. _How am I supposed to convince the Merpeople to give me the Resurrection Stone if you’re not going to be there, helping me somehow?_

Argui Dawjan chuckled. “Well, you _are_ still Harry Potter. They know you. As a matter of fact, if you present them the Elder Wand, I’m sure they’ll surrender the Stone without any more questions.”

Harry sighed, but followed Malfoy into the water. They were both equipped with Ministry level under water breathing aid and communications gear which could last them up to twenty four hours. When Harry looked back, before going under water, he saw Death frowning concerned and then disappearing in thin air.

 _That won’t be good_ , Harry thought, before descending to the depth of the Black Lake. Malfoy waited a few meters under water, clearly getting used to this kind of situation.

As Harry caught up with him, they nodded and Harry started to lead the way through the sinister looking environment. The lake was almost dark under the surface and it only allowed a through stray beam of sunlight into the depths. It created a mysterious and magical surrealistic picture.

They reached the underwater cliff, which would bring them even deeper into the dark, when Harry heard whisperings from somewhere. He stopped and looked around, frowning at Malfoy, but quickly turning to a patch of seaweed, lying in the dark.

“Something the matter, Potter?” Malfoy asked through the communication system.

Harry shook his head. “No, it just looks weird.” The whispering wasn’t supposed to be there. The only thing he should be able to hear was Malfoy speaking to him – not… something talking. At it seemed as if shadows were moving from somewhere, though it could just as well be the waves on top making these things.

He turned back to the Slytherin and pointed down. “Let’s go.”

They dove into the far end of the lake – no sun, nothing. Harry took out his usual wand and lighted them a way through the sharp edges of the rocks and impossible corners into a beautiful pond-like environment. Malfoy was just about to say something, when Harry hushed him and motioned him to follow into the seaweed living quarter of the Merpeople. Speaking now would only drive them mad, they already seemed to hate wizards and him especially, no need to make them even more agitated.

In the middle of a clearing, Harry saw the brunette and redheaded girls floating motionless. Both had their eyes wide in what seemed like panic and hands around their neck as if they had been suffocating.

Harry just wanted to get closer, when Malfoy held him back and pointed towards his own forearm and then the girls. Widening his eyes, Harry recognized the Dark Mark on both their forearms. What had they done? None of the girl’s parents had been a part of the Death Eaters and their name also hadn’t been in the file of known Neo Death Eaters. Harry knew that Kay had even said that Adley was a Muggle. She wouldn’t know anything about it.

As they carefully dove closer, Harry heard the whisper once again and checked the seaweed surrounding them, while Malfoy swam closer. He was just about to touch Eileen and get her to the surface, when Harry realized what was happening.

“It’s a trap!” He said loudly and with an expert hand move, he drew Malfoy back through a stream of water.

His voice awoke several hundred Merpeople and they swarmed the clearing, weapons in hand and evil looks on their green ugly faces.

“Harry Potter!” one spoke and its voice was echoing through the water, making it sound like the basilisk, Harry had fought a few decades ago. “We meet again after this very unlucky incident, years ago.”

Nodding, Harry looked around to see no way of escape. “We’ve come to take the dead girls out of your hand. We need to get them to the surface again to find out what happened.”

The Merpeople shook their heads. “So, history repeats itself.”

“It wouldn’t, if it were up to me.”

Malfoy swam closer to Harry and seemed to want to help him. “Look, we’re here to find out what happened to those girls. And we can do this better out of the water.”

The Merperson – Harry had trouble figuring out whether it was a male or female – shook its head. “Death claimed them. Only Death can get them out of our protecting hands.”

 _Great fucking hell. DEATH!_ Harry called in his head. Before soon, he looked down and saw the Elder Wand in its wand holster on his leg.

Looking up, he saw Malfoy being a little closer to the Merperson, so he chanced it and took the wand carefully out of the holster. Just a few inches, to show them the first knuckle of the Elder Wand. The Merpeople froze and Harry put it away, no sooner than Malfoy turned around and frowned at him.

“So be it. Take them away.”

Malfoy swam through the alley which the inhabitants had created and grabbed Eileen. When Harry wanted to follow him, the Merperson held him back and whispered: “Take this. We don’t want a piece of Death neighboring us. And leave as alone from now on, Master of Death.”

Nodding, Harry quickly accepted the Resurrection Stone in a safe air bubble, swam towards Adley, and the two Aurors got up safely, surrounded by Merpeople, guiding the way.

Once they reached the surface, McGonagall hurried back down and greeted them. When she saw the bodies, all color drained from her face.

“Are those…?”

Malfoy nodded grimly. “Yes, Headmistress. The Merpeople had kept the two, talking about not wanting us to harm them.”

Harry pulled himself out of the water and looked at McGonagall darkly. “Headmistress McGonagall, there’s something you need to see.” He turned Adley’s arm to show her the Dark Mark.

If McGonagall had been white before, she got even whiter now. “How is that possible?” she whispered. “None of the books in Hogwarts show these marks. I have been very strict with this.”

“That doesn’t mean they wouldn’t have found out about it” Malfoy said. “I carry my mark without hiding it. If some of the students at Hogwarts saw it around and asked their parents, they’ll know about it anyway. And the Prophet keeps writing things about the Neo Death Eaters. Someone’s bound to find out.”

“Please don’t tell anyone about this, Headmistress” Harry said quietly and placed the arm back on her stomach. “We don’t need more panic than we already have.”

McGonagall nodded and sighed. “I’ve just come to tell you that Samantha Dayton didn’t make it. She died in St. Mungo’s after repeatedly talking about going home in a delirium not created by any medicine.”

This whole case must have looked very weird and mysterious, if you didn’t know about what had started it. The Resurrection Stone had driven Eileen and Adley wild and made them follow their loved ones into death. What the sign on their arms had to do with it, Harry didn’t know. But Samantha must have gotten hold of the stone as well, before passing out and in her sleep-like state; the power of this stone had revealed itself fully and brought her to Death as well.

How was he ever going to be able to explain that to Ainsworth and Malfoy?!


	19. Chapter 19

As Harry and Malfoy entered their office the next morning, Ainsworth walked in right behind them. “Gentlemen” he started, which made both jump around quickly. “Since both of you are investigating this case, I would like to give each of you a few Trainee Aurors. They’re in their second year, top of the class and wanted a few more hours in actual Auror work.” He smirked and turned around to motion the five people standing outside to walk in.

This gave Harry a few flashbacks to his own years as a Trainee Auror. He had been so excited when an actual Auror had taken him under his wing for a few slow cases without any action. The five Trainee Aurors consisted of two women and three men. They couldn’t be more different.

“Trainee Auror Morton” the first man said nodding at the two Aurors. He was a little older than the others, but still young. His black hair resembled the one of Harry himself, with his unruly haircut and the positioning of it, and Malfoy smirked already.

Ainsworth had left the office, which was why Harry knew Malfoy would be daring the joke. “Look at that, Potter! Morton must be a family member of yours!”

The Trainee Auror laughed and relaxed a little. Harry couldn’t really laugh, as he just started to see a very faint but still visible red Glow of Death around Morton. The next person in line was a blond, muscular man with a strong jaw. “I’m Trainee Auror Chester. I’m from America” he stated with a strong North American accent.

“What brought you here, Chester?” Harry asked interested.

Chester shrugged and smiled. “I wanted to get more experience. You can gain a lot from studying in a foreign country.”

Nodding, Malfoy pointed at the redheaded girl standing between Chester and another man. She seemed to be the youngest of them all and was a little shy. “My name is Rosetta Stone, I’m a Slytherin and graduated from Hog…”

“Stone, we don’t need to know your life story” Harry chuckled and held his hands up for a high-five. “Welcome to the Trainee Aurors.”

Even though Stone, blushed, she high fived Harry and he moved on to the other man in the room. He reminded Harry a little of Malfoy. He seemed to have his nose high in the air. Both Aurors looked at each other for just a short second – both thinking the same. This man needed to be tamed by Malfoy himself.

“Auror Trainee Garrick, my dad works here as well. I just want some fun and less theory.”

Harry had to fight every fiber in his body, not to roll his eyes in front of him. “Sure, I know your father, he’s a good Auror. Let’s hope you’re one too, in some years.”

Malfoy seemed to be happy that Harry had talked to him and he turned to the last Trainee Auror in the room. She was blond and looked a little introverted. “And you are?”

“Acker. Trainee Auror Acker, Sir.”

Nodding, Harry pointed at the folder in his hand. “Here’s what we have so far: Two girls, Adley Yorke and Eileen Rowley, died in a lake, no foul play seems to have happened there. A third one, Samantha Dayton, died in St. Mungo’s a few hours ago. All of them have the Dark Mark on their arms.” He placed the folder down on his desk and pointed at Malfoy. “Auror Malfoy will be working with his team, the Passive Aurors, on a determination on how these girls could have died and finding out whether the Dark Mark is real. I will be interviewing the Healer and some other witnesses in St. Mungo’s.”

“Garrick and Stone, you’re with me” Malfoy said and hid a grin when Garrick rolled his eyes. Harry saw it, but didn’t react on it.

“That means, Morton, Chester and Acker, we’ll be interviewing the witnesses. Do you have everything you need with you?”

“Why can’t I go and interview the witnesses?” Garrick whined and crossed his arms over his chest. “That sounds like so much more fun than having to study some dead girl.”

Harry and Malfoy both stopped with their actions and frowned at the conceited man. This went on for a few seconds and Garrick got visibly irritated, even though he tried to play it cool.

“First of all, Garrick” Harry started calmly. “This ‘dead girl’ has a name. She has a family and friends who would like to know why she died, okay?”

Malfoy crossed his arms over his chest now as well. “Secondly, _we_ are the Aurors on this case, _Trainee Auror Garrick_. We can just as easily remove you from here and have your good marks ruined by a field report about your lacking manners towards actual human beings. And just for your information, the real Auror Garrick reads those reports. So I would think twice about what you’re saying to me or your superiors.”

Garrick shut up and looked at the floor, clearly defeated.

“Well, now that that’s dealt with” Harry turned to his three Trainee Aurors. “Have you gotten everything you need for this case?”

Morton, Chester and Acker nodded and Harry motioned them to follow him to the Auror Apparition Point. This was going to be an experience for them, since Trainee Aurors were usually not allowed to apparate from inside the Ministry.

They arrived at St. Mungo’s and were brought into a small room with chairs and a bed at the far corner. Harry motioned his Trainee Aurors to sit down and they waited for a while. Everything was quiet, when he looked at his Trainee Aurors.

“No questions?” Harry asked and smiled weakly.

Morton smirked. “A lot, but I can’t find the most important one.”

Harry chuckled. “Well, what’s on your mind right now?”

“What’s the worst thing you’ve seen so far? And how can I protect myself from getting PTSD?” Morton asked.

Nodding quietly, Harry went through his memory. “I’ve once entered a home of a father who killed his whole family. That was the worst thing I’ve seen so far. The most dangerous thing, however, was being surrounded by enemies and not knowing how or if I would get out of this situation alive.”

“And what do you then?” Acker asked carefully.

“Trust your partner. You need to trust them with your life, otherwise the chances of getting out alive are plummeting by the second” Harry explained. “As for PTSD… Support from your family and friends through this kind of trauma and letting them know what happened is a vital part. Most of the time, we want to exclude them from our work environment, because it can be really, really bad. But in order not to go and hide, they need to know and help you heal. If you think of yourself as a survivor instead of a victim, that would also help. If that doesn’t work, maybe a little therapy would.”

Chester sat up in his chair. “How often do you have to deal with someone being hurt in the field? Would it help, if we’ll take ‘Field Care’ next year?”

Harry nodded. “Always take this and ‘Body Language’. I didn’t take the first one and I’ve regretted it for a long time, until I did a short seminar about field care. These two courses will save your life one day.”

Before they could ask more questions, the parents of Samantha Dayton entered. Caitlyn recognized Harry immediately. Their children had had many visits during the holidays and she rushed forward, hugging Harry tightly. “Harry, thank you for coming. I’m so glad you’re the one looking into this!” A few tears ran down her cheeks, as she sat down next to her husband.

“I’m so sorry, Caitlyn. I wish I could do or say something else.”

“I know Harry.” Caitlyn said and smiled sadly.

Rodney, her husband, placed his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer. It seemed that this couple was brought closer together over the death of their child. “How can we help the investigation, Harry? I heard from the Healers that Eileen and Adley were found dead as well.”

Harry nodded. “The Healers told us that Sammy was talking in her own delirium; do you remember what she was saying?”

Rodney closed his eyes for a second and nodded then. “Yes” he said with a raucous voice. “She talked to my dad” he cleared his throat again. “She always called him Daddy-Dad when he had still been alive, but he died five years ago. She also talked about a girl called Addison Tyndall. Said something about her being a family friend, but I don’t recognize her name.”

“I do” Harry said and sighed. That would explain the Dark Marks on their forearms. “Anything else?”

Caitlyn looked at Harry with wide eyes. “She talked to Kayja.”

Harry frowned, while his heart skipped a beat. “Kay’s not dead. How can she talk to her?”

“These two always seemed to have a special bond, Harry” Rodney said smiling sadly. “I’ve taught Sammy a little magic, when she was small. It’s called ‘Ultima Arbitrium’ – last will. With this you can communicate to your loved one when you’re about to die. The last words, if you will.”

Now it was Harry who had a raucous voice, when he asked: “What did she say?”

Caitlyn was once again crying and Rodney swallowed hard, trying to make it through the interview. “That she loved her very much and she was glad for the few weeks they had spent together. She was also happy that Kay wasn’t at the lakeside, when Addison Tyndall arrived, since she was the one to k…” he couldn’t say it and Harry got up and walked over to him, placing his hand on his shoulder.

“I’m sorry, Rodney. I wish I could have done something to prevent all of this from happening. I’m glad you came to talk, though. We’ll find her and get justice.”

Rodney nodded and Harry motioned the Trainee Aurors to leave the room. They all looked rather depressed and Harry sighed. Normally, he would be able to get them back into a normal state of mind, however, with the information that his daughter was gay and in love with Sammy, who just died in St. Mungo’s… She was going through the same thing he had gone through when Ginny died.

Once everyone had left the room, Harry closed the door behind him, giving Caitlyn and Rodney the privacy they needed, and sighed. “I’m sorry, everyone. That was a little harder than I anticipated.”

“Are you now going to talk to your daughter?” Acker asked a little anxiously.

Frowning, Harry shook his head. “Not until I’ve found this Addison Tyndall and get her arrested for the murder. Why do you ask?”

Acker bit her lower lip and looked at the floor. “I know it’s none of my business, but… I mean… because… Mr. Dayton said that his daughter was in love with yours and that it seemed to be the same thing with her…” Acker had gotten very quiet at the end there.

Harry smiled weakly. “You don’t have to worry about this, Acker. I will not ostracize my own daughter because she loves someone. That’s not what I stand for.” He smiled at Acker and nodded at the rest of his Trainee Auror crew. “Let’s go and talk to Healer Sutherland, he said he has found something important on Samantha’s wrist.

When they walked through the hallway, a sudden power blackout changed everything into deepest night. Harry instinctively cast _Protego_ around them and enlightened the hallway through a wordless _Lumos_.

Two people appeared, both stopping when they saw Harry. The woman had only one ear and looked positively insane, as if she was supposed to be in the Janus Thickey Ward, the man looked way too happy with the situation they were in.

“Harry Potter” the woman with only one ear snarled, grinning darkly. “The Boy Who Lived.” She was talking slowly as if enjoying this very moment, thinking he was better and stronger than anybody else. It reminded Harry a little of Bellatrix, even though she was a little calmer then that deadly dark witch. She pointed towards Harry and turned to his friend. “Ey, Mason, what do you think we’ll get for killing him?”

Harry stared at them without wincing once. He knew these people. They tried to get intimidation from every angle they could grasp. “I’m here on a rather disadvantage, you see” Harry smiled, not showing any kind of fear. He stepped forward to protect the Trainee Auror as much as he could. However, fighting two possible Neo Death Eaters wasn’t something he could do alone. “You seem to know my name, yet I don’t have any clue who _you_ are.”

The woman chuckled, clearly enjoying the moment. She bowed mockingly. “Amelia Fawley, _your highness_!”

Mason, who seemed to understand that giving your name to an Auror was a pretty bad decision, shook his head. His hand ran through his hair, showing the Dark Mark clearly, and he laughed. “You know, Potter, you think you’re so strong and mighty in those Auror robes and with your wand pointing at us… Yet, here we are… Inside St. Mungo’s, about to destroy the place.”

Before Harry could do anything, Morton stepped forward and over the _Protego_ -spell protection line. “Over my dead body!”

“Ashley, Fawley!” a man called from the distance. “Now!”

Ashley turned around, while Fawley, grinned. “Of course, youngster. Your wish…” A huge earthquake hit St. Mungo’s. There was a bomb exploding right in front of Harry’s face. Blinding him, it threw him back into the wall, breaking his own protection spell and knocking him out of his conscious mind.

The last thing he could think of was to go to Death’s realm, since he would then appear to be dead and the Neo Death Eaters would hopefully leave him and the Trainee Aurors alone.


	20. Chapter 20

Harry groaned as he pushed the rubble from his body. He coughed, getting the dust out of his lungs and looked around. There were Healers running around, Aurors apparating straight into the broken wards of St. Mungo’s and blood splatter and dead bodies everywhere. Fires were raging and Harry saw the name _Samantha Dayton_ on a burnt folder. He caught sight of Morton, dead eyes and a head trauma that was beyond repair, and swore, before checking the pain and blood running from his own forearm. The scars Voldemort had made were opened once again and bleeding profusely. He got up and found Chester next to him under a few heavy rocks, panting for air which he wasn’t getting.

“Hold on, Chester, I’m going to get you out of here!” Harry said and stumbled to his knees, next to the Trainee Auror.

Chester looked at him scared and tried to get some air. “Auror Pott… Potter… am I go… going to… die?” he asked with his lungs probably about to collapse.

“No, Chester! No, you’re not!” He grabbed the biggest rock and pulled it away from the young man. Chester screamed loudly.

“HELP!” Harry screamed down the corridor, pointing his wand at the mess and levitating a few of the heavy foundation rocks away from the Auror Trainee. Two Healers hurried towards him, while another Auror followed, leading Harry away and starting to work on freeing Chester himself.

The Trainee Auror was pulsating red and made Harry wanting to go in and help him, but another Healer kept him from going away, looking at the scars again and mending his apparently broken bone.

Malfoy apparated right in front of him, when Harry wanted to get away from the Healer again, and held him down. “You need to let him look at what happened, Potter. What do you want to do?” he asked.

Wordlessly, Harry pointed to Chester, who was by now screaming in agony and Malfoy nodded, hurrying over to help the other Auror and the Healer.

After a painful thirty minutes, Chester gave up, even though the Healers had been trying everything. Malfoy checked up on the third Trainee Auror who had followed Harry into St. Mungo’s, but Acker was in shock and unable to speak. She sat on the floor, knees pulled up to her nose and rocking back and forth softly and humming some Muggle children song which Harry vaguely remembered, as if trying to calm herself down that way.

Since Malfoy hadn’t any chance of getting through to her, he followed other Aurors to different places, not before making Harry promise not to try and get away from having his scars fixed. Harry also promised to keep an eye on Acker, hoping she would be getting better soon. Both Harry and Malfoy knew that this wasn’t going to happen. Sadly, she didn’t seem strong enough to get out of this with her sanity intact.

Malfoy left and the Healer returned with some sedative, which Harry refused. So, he worked on Harry’s forearm, while he looked at Acker, who seemed to lose herself even deeper in her own mind.

“Is there anything you can do for her?” Harry asked and pointed at the young girl.

The Healer looked over and shook his head, sadness in his eyes. “Magic can’t be used for everything, Auror Potter. What she’s going through has only ever been researched by Muggle Trauma Specialists and they haven’t found anything to help the victims of things like that. Since she is a wizard and an Auror Trainee on top of that, she can close her mind off to any intruders – us, who want to help her – and dive into her own happy place.”

Harry nodded and let the Healer finish the scars, when Argui Dawjan appeared and looked around clearly impressed.

 _Thank you for joining the party_ , Harry thought grimly and Death turned to look at him, shrugging his shoulders.

“The chaos is astounding” he simply said and smiled. “I never would have thought that four Neo Death Eaters could make such a mess here."

_Why didn’t you warn me?_

Argui Dawjan chuckled. “It’s not my duty to tell you everything. After all, you did feel the deaths coming, didn’t you?”

Harry frowned. _That’s not the point, Death! If you had warned me, I could have maybe saved Chester or Morton. And maybe I could have somehow gotten Acker away from whatever she had seen._

Death turned to look at the Trainee Auror who was now silently rocking. She seemed to have buried herself so deeply into her own mind that she must have found the place where she felt save. Argui Dawjan shrugged his shoulders, when he turned back to Harry.

“She never had the willpower to be an Auror anyway. She would have realized it eventually.”

Harry rolled his eyes. _But instead you decided to make her scared out of her own mind? Maybe if she had just seen a little bit today, it would have made it clear to her. You didn’t have to take away her sanity!_

Before he could discuss this problem more with Death, Ainsworth and a few other high ranking Ministry Officials arrived. By then, Malfoy had apparated back to where he had left Harry and almost stumbled into their boss.

None of the Ministry Officials looked pleased. Ainsworth stared at the mayhem and then at Malfoy and Harry. “What happened? We’ve only gotten some news, but nothing that made any kind of sense.”

Malfoy also turned to Harry, since he had been the one who had probably seen it all and frowned slightly. Harry held his breath for a second, before remembering what had happened. 

“We went here to check up on some witness statements surrounding the deaths of the girls at Hogwarts. Some Healer claimed to have found something on Samantha’s wrist that could have helped us” Harry looked over to the Healer they were supposed to talk to who had a severed spine due to a rock falling down and a curse had blown the flesh from his face.

One of the Officials turned to Harry and asked: “Who’s ‘we’?”

Harry rubbed his forehead. “Trainee Aurors Morton, Chester and Acker. Only Acker survived” he motioned towards the blond now quietly singing to herself again.

He explained how the Neo Death Eaters had surprised everyone and how it had happened so fast that basically no one could have done something or seen it coming. Harry then asked Malfoy how wide the destruction ranged.

“Luckily, they only blew a whole into the wards, the building is somewhat stable. The Emergency Maintenance Department is already fixing the most difficult parts. The hospital should be up and running in an hour at most. No other part has been damaged” Malfoy explained and the Officials seemed to be glad with this answer.

While Malfoy helped Harry getting up, most of them apparated away or went to look for some leaders around St. Mungo’s. Ainsworth stayed with them and pointed at Harry’s wounds. “This looks exactly like the Dark Mark.”

Nodding, Harry let his robe hide the scars. “Voldemort gave it to me when I was fourteen, during the Triwizard Tournament.”

“And now it opened again…” Ainsworth thought quietly. “What if the girls who died at Hogwarts had something similar to do with that?”

“Meeting Voldemort?” Harry asked, which made Malfoy roll his eyes.

“Playing around with dark objects” he offered.

Harry sighed. “I talked to Caitlyn and Rodney Dayton. They say that Samantha said something about Addison Tyndall killing the girls. She’s the one we suspect of being the leader of the Neo Death Eaters.”

Ainsworth nodded. He then turned to the two of them again. “I will give this case to Garrick and Bones, they might find something. You two are too close. You’re now assigned to finding the Neo Death Eaters who attacked St. Mungo’s.”

Harry frowned. “I already have two names, Sir.”

His boss had wanted to apparate, when he stopped in the middle of this action. “You have… Who?”

“Amelia Fawley and Mason Ashley. They talked to each other with their first names, they seemed to be friends, and their leader said their last names. I only heard one more, he was a man” Harry said.

Grabbing a quill and paper out of his robes, Ainsworth wrote down the names. “I’ll have Preston arrest these two. Once it’s done, you’ll get a Patronus. Maybe they’ll talk.”

Before their boss could leave, Malfoy pointed at Acker. “What happens to her?”

Looking at the Auror Trainee, Ainsworth sighed. “I guess we’ll leave her here. Tell the Healers to put her in the Janus Thickey Ward.” With that he disappeared and left Harry and Malfoy to deal with the mentally lost former Trainee Auror.


	21. Chapter 21

Fawley and Ashley talked the second they were brought into the Ministry. Well, they were kept in the Ministry holding cells over the weekend and Harry was sure that some Auror had his fun with them. On Monday, they gave two other names – Stratford and Upton – before killing themselves with a serum no one had seen before. Malfoy and his crew looked at it but couldn’t find anything remotely useful to finding the solution. The two other Neo Death Eaters were nowhere to be found.

There were two funerals held in the Ministry and the pictures of Edward Morton and Daniel Chester were hung up in the Trainee Quarters. Harry had skipped both funerals and had started to work non-stop on this case that hadn’t only killed three innocent girls, but also two amazing Aurors in Training and put one Auror in Training into the Janus Thickey Ward.

Malfoy had tried to make him stop his antics; including sending him home at five and even telling Ainsworth, but nothing had worked so far. Harry had been working once again, when Malfoy had long left the building, when he felt a familiar presence appear in front of him. Without looking up, he frowned.

“Did you need to kill all these people, Death?”

Argui Dawjan sighed. He fixed his very creamy yellow suit, which Harry despised from the first time he saw it, and ran his hand through his white hair. “It’s not my decision who dies and who lives, Paruluum. They set off a bomb, not me.”

Harry shook his head and looked up. “Funny.” He huffed and turned back to his parchment, before glaring back at Death. “Honestly, why do I even bother with you?”

“If it weren’t for you, they would still be alive. Draco Malfoy and Ronald Weasley wouldn’t have brought them along to the hospital” Death claimed and shrugged his shoulders.

“Oh, thank you for that” Harry narrowed his eyes. “That was what I needed to get through this paperwork.” He threw his quill into the pot of ink, not caring for the splash of black jumping out of the prison, and got up. “Are you telling me, they died because I was in their lives?!”

Death shook his head. “No, they would have died no matter what. I was just showing you something: You can’t save everyone. I know you saw Edward Morton being surrounded by the Glow of Death. Edward Morton had cancer, he would have died in five years anyway.”

Harry frowned disapprovingly. “So? Wizards can treat cancer, right?”

“No. They’re even further behind on what Muggles are doing.” Death one again shrugged his shoulders. “You should stop with your Savior antics, Harry Potter. Even if you are Death, you cannot undo what happened to everyone.”

“I know I could have done _something_!”

Argui Dawjan shook his head. “I am Death, Harry Potter. And I am telling you that there was nothing you could have done. You did everything right. If you had tried to cling onto what life was left in your body after being thrown through a thick wall, they would have found out and killed you. Edward Morton was already dead by that point and Daniel Chester sealed his own fate by giving up halfway through his own rescue.”

Harry shook his head, not really wanting to believe what he heard. However, before he could say something, Malfoy entered the office again. He had changed his clothes from the black Ministry approved suit and now looked almost casual. Harry frowned slightly. Hadn’t the Slytherin left the Ministry hours ago? “We’re going out, Potter.”

Stopping dead in his tracks, Harry widened his eyes. Did Malfoy just ask him out? Just like that?! He did look good in his baby blue jumper and the white, slightly grey jeans. However, it was Malfoy and Harry had thought that he would do things a little different in asking people out…

Before he could say something, Malfoy frowned and rolled his eyed then. “Undercover, Potter. The spies just received information about where Addison Tyndall’s hiding. Go to the UO and get another personage. I’ll visit Ainsworth for the mission folder.”

“We’re only one week in on our ‘No Undercover Missions’-punishment.” It made more sense that Malfoy would say it like that, not actually asking him out. Harry shook his head. “And besides, if I don’t have the folder, I can’t get in.”

The Slytherin grinned and shrugged his shoulders. “I think this is important, since it’s Addison Tyndall. I don’t think they’d throw us into another mission if it were some small time criminal. Here’s a note from Ainsworth!”

Nodding, Harry frowned at Death, before walking out, Malfoy’s paper in hand to get into UO. It was almost empty, only a few hard working stylists and night shift employees left over. Harry walked into Dean’s room, where he was lucky to find his old friend.

“Hey, mate” Dean greeted him and pulled him into a friendly hug. “I’m sorry for having to witness the children die.”

Harry nodded. “I just want this nightmare to be over.”

Dean smiled, understanding completely. “I’m glad your daughter’s fine by the way. Rachel told us what happened at Hogwarts.”

“Yeah, I need another personage so I can finally end it.”

Nodding, Dean got hold of his wand and wordlessly got to work. Meanwhile, another UO worker came in and placed a personage list in Harry’s lap. He read through it and made sure to remember everything about Karl Schneider, a German Immigrant.

In no time, Dean was done and sent him to the stylist. Harry looked at himself in the mirror, seeing a tall man with short red hair. The scar, Dean had hidden in his hair, which worked probably better than the other thing.

Harry thanked his friend and went to see the stylist for some new hair styles and a clothes change. Finally, once he was done completely, he walked up to meet Malfoy in their office. The Slytherin was sitting at the desk, looking over some pictures.

A young woman, no older than twenty one, could be seen on them. She had shining red hair and a scar on her neck that ran from her ear down to the shoulders, where it hid under the t-shirt.

“Nice change” Death said, while Harry glared at him. Yes, he did like whatever Karl Schneider was wearing, since it was a rather fancy looking dark grey three piece suit. Harry thought he looked rather good, but he didn’t like Death telling him that…

“Malfoy, I’m ready. Are you?” Harry asked and adjusted the suit he was wearing.

Nodding, the Slytherin put the pictures away and turned around. “You look good, Potter. Let’s show these idiots not to mess with the Ministry.”

“And killing girls” Harry added, finding no time to flush over what Malfoy had said about his clothes. “And maybe by imprisoning the Neo Death Eater’s leader we can end this organization.”

Argui Dawjan smirked and seemingly decided to tag along as well, however invisible. “This should be fun.”

While they walked to the Apparition Point, Harry told Malfoy everything he had to know about Karl Schneider and Malfoy on the other hand explained everything Ainsworth had told them. By the time they had reached the Auror Apparition Point, Harry decided to do the Alongside-Apparition, which he hated, but worked for the magically weak Karl Schneider.

They landed in a dark alley in a smaller city somewhere in Scotland. Harry knew that Hogwarts was close. He followed Malfoy through the alley and the Slytherin knocked at a darkened pub. There was a snake on top of the door, just nailed at the door and it seemed to be still alive. Harry narrowed his eyes when he heard the silent hisses for help and nobody to do something about it. These bastards should burn in hell!

Before Harry could do anything, the door was opened a bit and a single eye appeared. It seemed to be as dark inside the pub as it was outside.

Malfoy smiled his handsome smile and nodded. “Good evening, I’m here to talk to your leader. Draco Malfoy, Auror spy for the Dark Side.”

At this the door was opened and an older woman stood there, smiling at him. “Draco Malfoy! What are you doing here? Come in, come in! Who’s your friend there?”

The Slytherin turned to Harry. “After last time, I decided to reduce my group of associates a little bit. This is Karl Schneider. He’s a German wizard business man who’s thinking about buying a bank, right?”

Harry chuckled and shook his head. “No, Drako” he said in a thick German accent. “I buy houses that I for a lot of money to poor familien sell.”

Malfoy rolled his eyes. “No Grammar, that man.”

The old lady smiled and stepped back, letting both of them inside the pub. She led them to the kitchen and opened another door which led to the cellar. “The meeting’s taking place down there.”

“Nice house” Harry said and smiled at the old lady. “How much?”

The woman chuckled and shook her head. The two Aurors undercover walked down and Harry recognized Addison Tyndall quickly. She was the only one with flaming red hair, she could have been a Weasley. He would have loved to do something, but his Auror senses and Death sense told him to wait. 

The basement they were in had a low ceiling and the four long tables were half filled. At the very end there was a make-shift kitchen with a travel oven and a microwave. What attracted Harry’s attention was the graffiti message at the wall. _Gsv Wzip Oliw irhvh ztzrm._ Next to that there were also a few numbers, however, Harry only recognized 4 1 18 11 12 15 18 4.

A large man with a lot of scars on his body, walked closer to them, grabbing Harry’s attention rather quickly. He did look scary and Harry wanted to at least see the punch coming.

“Draco Malfoy. What are you doing here? The last time you were in our midst, your friend blew up the hide-out.” He looked at Harry, taking out his wand. “Who are you?”

“Karl Schneider” Harry said, holding his hands in the air. “I will here at the house look at.”

Malfoy rolled his eyes. “Put the wand down, mate. He’s a German business man. He’s got basically no magic at all and he wants to buy some houses for families to make profit himself.”

Tyndall walked closer and Harry frowned slightly. “I’m Major Addison Tyndall” she introduced herself. Two things were happening inside Harry’s brain: Firstly, he was disappointed to have found another Major but not the actual leader of this damn Neo Death Eater organization. And secondly: Was she glowing blue?

Death appeared next to him out of nowhere and nodded. “Interesting. A blue Glow of Death means that this person has escaped my clutches. She’s supposed to be dead by now but somehow managed to stay alive.”

 _And what do I do with it?_ , Harry asked, trying not to look as if he was having discussions with a being that was invisible to everyone around.

“German, you say?” Tyndall asked and smiled. “Und was machen Sie hier in Schottland?”

Harry looked at her, puzzled, but realizing quickly that she had a perfect German accent. He smiled back, trying his hardest not to freak out and to keep his accent straight. He had lived in Berlin undercover for two years and gotten hold of a few things, but he didn’t know whether that was holding up now. Malfoy also looked slightly uncomfortable.

“Nun, ich möchte ein paar Häuser kaufen, die ich dann für viel Geld weiterverkaufen kann. Wissen Sie, ich habe es bereits in Deutschland als ein Immobilien-König geschafft, das Gleiche möchte ich jetzt in Schottland schaffen“ he explained, happy with the amount of missing articles.

Tyndall raised her eyebrows and nodded impressed, as if she had thought that Harry was an intruder – which he was. “Okay. You need to be better at speaking English, though. German has a very distinct grammar with the most important verb at the end. English is different.”

Harry nodded and tried his hardest to drown out the Adrenalin rushing through his veins. “Ah, thanks you.”

Tyndall turned back to Malfoy and they started talking about something, while Death started to tell Harry how to get a blue glowing person. “The trick” he started, “is to understand that the blue glow is basically your own energy. She’s living off of death and the only thing you need to do is take it back.”

Looking at Tyndall, Harry frowned slightly. Death chuckled suddenly. “And amazing German accent! I thought you had to kill everyone here by now, but you nailed it!”

_Thanks._

Tilting his head slightly, Harry concentrated on taking back what was his. He felt the blue Glow of Death rush his body like a bucket of icy water over his head. It was incredibly weird and felt good at the same time.

Malfoy sat down at a table next to some dodgy looking Neo Death Eaters, when Tyndall walked into the kitchen. Harry felt Malfoy’s look on himself, but he knew that looking away from his target would probably not work out too well. The Death Magic rushing his body had somehow told him that.

The blue Glow of Death disappeared from around the woman, when she started coughing and trying to get some air. Harry turned around and pointed at her. “Help her!” he called out and at least five people rushed to her side, but it was definitely too late.

Harry had absorbed all her life through the blue Glow of Death and the two of them were ushered out of the establishment with the older woman rushing down and calling out for her baby. The two Aurors apparated away and once they were in their office, having reported back to Ainsworth, who for some reason still sat in his office, Malfoy turned to face Harry.

“You did something to her.”

“What?” Harry looked up and shook his head, finally having been able to transform his hair back and looking normal again.

Malfoy narrowed his eyes. “I saw you looking at Tyndall for a while and then she goes down. You definitely did something to her!”

Harry shrugged his shoulders. “I think you’re delusional. I was just wondering what I should tell her next, but she went down on her own. Nothing else happened.”


	22. Chapter 22

Apparating outside of Hogwarts, Harry made his way through the beautiful castle site and the still quiet halls to McGonagall’s office. It was early in the morning, but Harry had decided to tell her about the person they had found responsible – and was also dead by now.

When he knocked on her door and walked in afterwards, he saw McGonagall looking up. “Auror Potter! I hope there’s not more bad news!”

“No, Headmistress” Harry answered and offered a smile. “We’ve caught the witch responsible for the deaths.” At least that was what everyone else thought. Nobody knew about the Resurrection Stone in Harry’s safe next to the Elder Wand and the Invisibility Cloak – all three Deathly Hallows in one place.

McGonagall smiled. “And you came all this way to tell me? I’m aware that you grew up surrounded by Muggles, Potter, but we wizards have something called the floo network.”

Harry chuckled and shook his head. “I’m well aware, thank you. I’ve also come here to talk to Kayja. Is there any chance for me to have a discussion with her somewhere private?”

“Of course, Potter.” McGonagall called a house elf to wake Harry’s daughter and bring her to her office. “I will head for some breakfast now. This should give you about an hour.” McGonagall offered and smiled. “Would you like to stay a little after your talk? I would love to hear a little bit of your daily work.”

Nodding, Harry accepted her invitation and the Headmistress walked out of the room, while Harry took place at a small wooden table at the end of the room. He looked up at the sleeping portraits and smiled over Dumbledore’s ridiculous looking nightgown and Snape’s rather strict black pajama.

After a good ten minutes, the door was opened and Kay walked in, a little shy and with red eyes. “Hey darling” Harry smiled at her and the second she saw that he wasn’t angry or mad, she threw herself once again into his arms.

Kay started sobbing no second later than she felt her Dad’s loving embrace. “It’s okay, darling. I’m so sorry you had to lose Sammy so soon. And I’m sorry that you felt as if you couldn’t tell me.”

“I’m so sorry, Dad” Kay cried. “I wanted to tell you so bad, but I was so scared. Not even Thelo knows!”

Harry held his daughter tighter. If she wasn’t ready to tell her big brother, who knew everything about her, it must have been quite the burden she had been carrying around. “It’s fine, Kay. I hope you know that I love you no matter what!” He pressed a kiss on her temple. “I want you to know that you can always come to me and talk about whatever you want.”

“Thank you, Dad!” Kay had stopped crying loudly, but still held onto him for dear life. “I wasn’t sure if you would ignore me, if I told you about me and Sammy.”

Smiling softly, Harry stroked over Kay’s back. “I want you to be happy, darling. I couldn’t care less who you love. As long as they treat you as the beautiful and amazing woman you are, I will respect them. Or rather _her_. Okay?”

Kay nodded and it seemed as if all the stress of this had left at once, since she suddenly seemed to be extremely tired. “Please tell me you got the person who did this to Sammy?!”

“I did, darling. I got her and she will never hurt anybody else! Ever!”

This seemed to calm Kay even more and she snuggled into the embrace, staying there silently for half an hour, until Harry told her it was time to go get something to eat.

“If there’s ever something to talk about, you know you can just tell me, right?” Harry asked and smiled again.

Kay smiled in return as well, though it was weak, which Harry completely understood. “I know now. Thanks Dad. Do you think Thelo’s going to understand?”

Nodding, Harry hugged her again. “I’m certain, darling. He loves you dearly. I’m sure if any girl wants to hurt you, he’s going to be by your side faster than me.”

With that, Kay went to breakfast and quite possibly, telling her brother about her sexuality and maybe even her relationship to Sammy. Harry sighed loudly and put his head in his hands. Before the hour was up, the door opened once again.

This time, a fourth year, black haired boy walked in. He looked exactly like a younger doppelganger of Harry and he always had. Looking up, Harry caught sight of his son and smiled broadly.

“Dad!” he called out and hugged Harry tightly.

Harry chuckled over the enthusiasm his son showed. “Hey Nate, how are you doing? And how did you know I was here?”

Nate laughed and shrugged his shoulders. “I saw Kay and she said she just visited you in the Headmistress’ office. So I came to see if you were still here.”

“And that’s why you’re my favorite Ravenclaw, Cookie Ears.”

Nate rolled his eyes. “Dad! I told you to stop calling me that!” Harry laughed at his son’s outrage over the childhood name Harry had given him. “Also I know I’m not your favorite Ravenclaw, because I think Luna Lovegood is.”

Harry grinned. “Well, my son has a higher status than my friends, so technically are my favorite Ravenclaw.”

At this, Nate grinned broadly and started talking about his favorite subject – Care of Magical Creatures, which was being taught by Charlie Weasley. Harry was sure that of they would have had such an amazing teacher in this class, he wouldn’t have dropped it for his NEWT’s. In fact, Nate seemed to want to continue on this path and do something with dragons as well.

“Just make sure to ask Professor Weasley for any help if you’re really going into studying dragons across the world. I’m sure he can give you a lot of tips and tricks” Harry advised to which Nate grinned, but agreed nonetheless.

They talked more about why Nate wanted to go around studying dragons and his reasoning was almost the same as his oldest son, Thelo who wanted to be famous for studying creatures. Nate just wanted to do something with his life that meant something. He wasn’t into fighting Dark Wizards and Defense Against the Dark Arts had left him with some doubt about his own magical ability, but with Charlie’s help, he had gotten to understand creatures very well.

It also didn’t hurt that Charlie flew in on a different dragon every year, which then was the topic for all classes for a month, before he returned to dragon to its actual home. That officially made him the coolest professor at Hogwarts.

“Did you hear the best thing ever, Dad?” Nate asked and grinned again. Harry silently shook his head. “Diana beat the Gryffindor Quidditch team! She hit their Seeker and actually almost disqualified the Slytherins, but they still made it.”

Harry shook his head. “You know this is not exactly something I would have wanted to know, Nate. But thank you, because now I can send her a Howler.”

Nate widened his eyes and was probably just about to question whether or not he had done something bad, when Harry chuckled. “Don’t worry, Nate. That was a joke. I bet Thelo wasn’t pleased with Diana’s actions?”

“He was furious. But there was nothing he could do. Now, they train twice as hard. At least that’s what I’ve heard” Nate explained.

Harry smirked. “And how’s Athena doing?”

It had taken Athena a long time, getting to understand that at Hogwarts, twins weren’t always put in the same house. Diana being her twin sister made it even harder, because she didn’t like to show people her real emotions. Athena on the other hand was lost for two years until Thelo took her under his wings and showed her that Gryffindors could be fun as well.

“Great! She’s joined a house-unity study group led by some seventh year actually. I think she likes it there and she gets to meet new people.”

Before Harry could say something, the door opened and McGonagall entered. She frowned at Nate and shook her head. “Nathaniel Potter, stop walking into my office at every hour of the day!”

Harry frowned, but couldn’t keep a smile from his face, while his son answered. “I’m sorry Headmistress, but your passwords are just too easy to guess. Once you figure out the system, there’s no way you can ignore it.”

“Nate!” Harry shook his head.

His son shrugged his shoulders. “Sorry.” That was all he said, while walking out of the office, bidding goodbye to his father.


	23. Chapter 23

To say that Malfoy was slightly suspicious of Harry was an understatement. The Slytherin seemed to be sure that Addison Tyndall died because of something he had done to her. However, there was no evidence. In fact, everything Harry and Malfoy had done so far ended up in the ‘no evidence’ category.

The morning after Harry had visited his children at Hogwarts, Malfoy had entered their office pouting as if he hadn’t gotten his favorite dessert last night. When he found Harry there, he sighed, placing all his folders on his desk with a loud bang. Harry looked up and found the Slytherin standing behind his desk. Even though he was rather unhappy, he still did look very good. “The Dark Marks on Adley and Eileen were fake. The magic I found everywhere around them also manifested itself on their arms.”

Harry sighed and looked at the report of the incident at St. Mungo’s. “Well, since we’re already sharing bad news: Samantha Dayton burned to ash. Whatever Healer Sutherland found on her wrist is now lost forever.”

“This day just keeps getting better and better, isn’t it?!” Malfoy rolled his eyes and threw himself into the chair.

That instance, Death appeared and looked at Harry. “There’s a certain Samantha Dayton who would like to talk to you.”

_It’s in the middle of the day. I can’t just go to your realm, Death!_

Argui Dawjan shook his head. “You won’t have to. I can bring her here.”

Harry stared at the immortal being, not sure on whether or not it understood everything. If Sammy were to come here – with Malfoy in the room – the Slytherin would freak out even more! And maybe he would finally realize what Harry actually was…

Death narrowed his eyes and turned to the Slytherin. With one fluent movement, the man’s eyes closed and he slumped over his own desk, clearly asleep. “Can you talk now?”

“I guess.”

Death nodded and snapped his fingers. The brown haired girlfriend of his daughter appeared, looking very pale and the Dark Mark present on her arm. Harry frowned at her, not really happy with the appearance, since he was hoping a little bit that she may have found peace in the afterlife.

“Mr. Potter. Death said I could talk to you?” Sammy asked and smiled weakly at him. Silently nodding, Harry motioned her to continue talking. “Okay, so Addison Tyndall gave us this mark before we died. I know that Adley and Eileen had no idea what was going on and I think they were strangling themselves for some reason. I wanted to help them and keep the other woman away from us, but she froze me and then said I was going to be a good sacrifice.”

Harry frowned. “A sacrifice? What for?”

Sammy showed her wrist, where a black sheep with a knife in its head lay on some kind of table. “She told me that they wanted to awaken the evil. They have been looking for someone as a sacrifice for a very long time, but that I was perfect.”

Shaking his head, Harry couldn’t believe what he was hearing. This girl must have gone through hell before she died! “Did she say who they wanted to awaken?”

“Tom Marvolo Riddle – the Dark Lord.”

Words failed Harry as he tried to wrap his head around the information. The Neo Death Eaters wanted to resurrect Voldemort? He had been dead for over twenty years. Harry had wanted to make sure of it and while Ginny had wanted to get children basically immediately, it had taken Harry four more years just to make sure that nothing bad would be happening to them. And now that…

“Addison told me that the message I should bring to their people was that ‘The Dark Lord rises again’. I’m not sure on how or when…”

Harry jumped up, right when Malfoy found his conscious again. The Slytherin looked as if he suspected him to have done something, but Harry had other news. He remembered the wall full of letters and numbers and wrote down on a white board what he had seen.

Malfoy grumbled and shook his head. “What are you doing, Potter?!”

While this happened, Death and Sammy disappeared, which made Harry a little happy. He was hoping that maybe now Sammy could find peace. He really didn't want her walking around with the Dark Mark and whatever sacrificial scar they left on her body. She was just a teenager.

Harry wrote the last number and stepped back from the board. “It’s a secret code, Malfoy. The numbers are the letters in the alphabet.”

He placed the correct letters to the numbers and saw the Slytherin freeze. It spelled out ‘Dark Lord’.

“Fuck” was all Malfoy could say.

Harry nodded and went through his memory, writing down the other sentence he had seen that didn’t make any sense. Gsv Wzip Oliw irhvh ztzrm. This didn’t make any sense, right? But there was a reason as to why the Neo Death Eaters had it written down.

Malfoy got up and walked over to the white board. “The second and third word must be ‘Dark Lord’.”

“Do you see other things in here?” Harry asked.

He couldn’t understand the rule, yes the second and third word only had four letters and therefore needed to be these words, but what was the rule?

“It’s backwards, Potter. D in _Dark_ is the fourth letter in the alphabet. Which means, you take the fourth last letter – W – to encode the message.”

“So what does it spell?” It was quiet for few seconds, where both men worked on decoding the message. Malfoy was done earlier and all color drained from his face.

> _The Dark Lord rises again_

The Slytherin stared at the paper in his hands and whispered: “They’re trying to awaken He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?”

 _Hey Argui Dawjan?_ Harry called for his teacher. Death appeared quickly and nodded at him. _Is it possible to resurrect someone’s body and soul?_

Shaking his head, Death chuckled as if Harry had asked something funny. “You can resurrect a body, yes. And actually, Samantha Dayton was right, she was the perfect sacrifice. But the soul is gone. If you resurrect someone, you can catch some soul passing by, but Tom Riddle is not going to be the actual Voldemort. Just a cheap imitation.”

 _That’s at least something_ , Harry thought and turned to Malfoy. “We need to go and look for Voldemort’s grave.”

“How?! No one knows where he was buried.”

Malfoy seemed to have lost all courage. Harry on the other hand, shook his head. “No, Malfoy. The public doesn’t know where. I do.”

There had been two possible places: Next to his Muggle father who he hated to death or around Hogwarts, where he actually died. The Ministry had asked Harry for his input and after telling them that people might be looking for a Tom Riddle and then finding his father – and him if he was to be buried there – the Ministry decided not to place him with his hated father.

Harry and Malfoy hurried along to the Auror Apparition Point, not hearing Ainsworth calling after them, and apparated away to outside of Hogsmeade.

“Hogwarts?” Malfoy asked and looked around frowning. “Don’t you think some child would find this?”

“It’s not at Hogwarts, Malfoy. We need to walk a little towards the Highlands.”

The Slytherin rolled his eyes. “We are _in the Highlands_.”

Harry sighed. “Deeper into to Highlands, Malfoy. Are you happy with this answer?”

“No.”

Harry had a feeling that the answer was okay, but the situation they were in seemed to be extremely bad. And he had a feeling like that as well. The Neo Death Eater group already had a mainstay in Scotland, they had probably found Voldemort.

The two of them walked for about twenty minutes, when Harry stopped dead in his track. On a hill, where the Minister had opened a small door, the stones of this heavy door had been moved. It was now a black hole, gazing into the world.

“Potter, I don’t like this at all.”

Sighing, Harry nodded. “Do you think I like this?”

They snuck up towards the door and found an empty room. “Don’t touch anything!” he ordered, when they finally stood inside. Harry walked to the right wall and touched a specific stone. However, while the last bed of Voldemort’s appeared, some writing in blood did as well. Malfoy winced and looked at his fainted mark which was moving by itself again. The writing on the wall said: The Dark Lord has risen.

When the Slytherin looked up, there was pure terror and fear in his eyes. Harry didn’t blame him. “This can’t be happening, right? I thought he was gone!”

Harry rubbed his forehead, looking at the coffin that by now had appeared. He glanced at Malfoy, who was nervously dancing from one foot to the other. When he touched the cold coffin, a wave of Dark Magic hit him. It didn’t have Voldemort’s signature, but then again, that man was dead – at least the soul was gone.

Acting quickly, he opened the coffin to see… nothing. Malfoy’s breath stopped and Harry groaned loudly. This might actually be a problem. Either the Neo Death Eaters had stolen the corps or they actually managed to resurrect the worst human being ever.

“There is a way you can find out, Paruluum” Death said as he appeared in the small death chamber. “The shadows know everything and they are your servants. If you want to know, you can ask them and they’ll show you.”

 _Is there a way that doesn’t make it suspicious to Malfoy?_ Harry asked, while he stared into the cold coffin. He really joped that he wasn't looking all too weird.

Death nodded. “There’s a dark spell, which someone once accidentally created and then hid, because it has a lot of Death Magic in it. However, for you it’s safe to use and if you take a friend into this world, they will leave him alone as well.”

Harry closed his eyes and felt the Death Magic surround him. Eventually, it brought words to his attention and he spoke them without questioning it. “Umbra ostende mihi.”


	24. Chapter 24

Malfoy looked up at Harry and was just about to say something, when the whole room was filled with blackness and shadows. They whispered in a foreign language. Without any more actions, they suddenly disappeared and Harry and Malfoy stood in the sepulchre with about twenty other people. These people were shoulder on shoulder, dressed in what seemed to be official Death Eater garments and holding torches.

It looked like an official sacrifice; however, it seemed to be the awakening of Tom Riddle. In fact, Tyndall was with them and she touched the stone Harry had, when the coffin started to rise from the ground.

“I think we have a mole in the Ministry” Malfoy said. He was now standing next to Harry and watched what was happening with a nervousness that this thing now was projecting on him.

Harry nodded. “Yes. Luckily, though, the number of people who know about this place is limited. And the number of people who know how to open the coffin is even smaller.”

The Slytherin huffed. “Any person who knows about this could just walk in and start touching the stones. They will eventually find the one.”

“No. We protected it so that if you touch more than three stones without the right one being the third, you’ll freeze and be reported to the Minister immediately.”

They were quietly watching how the coffin landed on the same level as the ground and Tyndall opened it grinning broadly. There lay Tom Riddle. Pale skin, but somehow still intact.

“How is that possible?” Malfoy whispered and opened his eyes wide. “It’s been over twenty years! Why hasn’t he fallen apart?”

Harry shook his head. The figure of his nightmares had returned. Seeing him like that in front of him without any visible injury, took away his sanity a little. Suddenly, he realized something. Trainee Auror Acker had probably seen that. She had probably seen Voldemort in St. Mungo’s and brought up something.

The Neo Death Eaters did some kind of chant and after a good five minutes, Voldemort opened his eyes. Malfoy stumbled back into the wall, gasping for air and Harry stood there frozen by the sight of the man that had taken so much from him.

“It’s not Tom Riddle” Death reminded Harry and he nodded in trance.

In fact, if one were to look a little closer, one could see the differences. They had apparently even gotten a soul for this man. Voldemort looked around confused and then turned to the grimly smiling Tyndall. “Where am I?” he asked with the roughness of a voice that hadn’t been used for over two decades.

Harry turned to look for Malfoy and found him on the floor, knees up to his nose, staring at Voldemort. _Not again!_ , Harry thought and kneeled before his partner, blocking the sight to this scene.

“Malfoy, look at me! This is not…” The Slytherin didn’t look at him and Harry grabbed his cheeks, softly turning his gaze towards him. “Malfoy, it’s not the actual Tom Riddle…” There was still nothing in the Slytherin’s eyes that made him look as if he understood.

“Draco!” Harry called and finally seemed to get through to his conscience. “It’s not Tom Riddle. You need to let go of the pictures you have in your mind!”

The Slytherin shook his head. “No. No, no, no, no…” Malfoy tried to bury his head in his hands, but Harry kept him from doing so.

“What eye color did he have, Draco?” The use of his first name seemed to give Malfoy something to latch onto.

He still shook his head and answered with closed eyes. “Red. They were red” he whispered.

Harry nodded and stroked over Malfoy’s cheeks until he opened his eyes. “Good. Look at him, now. _His_ eyes are brown.”

Malfoy turned to look at the scene and Harry turned around as well, seeing how Tyndall helped the figure out of the coffin with bones cracking from being used again. When Tom Riddle looked up, the Slytherin exhaled and rubbed his eyes.

“What is going on?”

Sighing, Harry got up and looked at how a very confused soul seemed to want to make sense of that. “I’ve heard about this before” Harry lied. He didn’t really want to tell Malfoy that he had heard it from Death himself. “With a specific magical spell you can bring the dead back to life.”

“No kidding, Potter!” Malfoy swore, before getting to his feet again. “Why does he have different eyes?!”

“Because this is not Tom Riddle’s soul. This spell captured an innocent soul wandering around in this sacrificial spell and banished it to the body of Voldemort” Harry explained.

Tyndall laughed before bowing to her ‘Lord’. “The Dark Lord rises again!” she said and grinned, before the scene dissolved and the shadows disappeared.

Both Aurors stood there staring at the place where the scene had taken place. None of them were happy with what they had seen. Harry faced Death and raised his eyebrow. _Now what? They have Tom Riddle. If they show him around, people will freak out!_

Death nodded and smirked. “But you see, Paruluum. Rising people from the dead leaves tracks.” He pointed at the bluish glowing shoe marks. “They used Death Magic to bring him back to life - _your_ magic. You can follow these steps and take back what’s yours. The same thing you did with Addison Tyndall.”

“Potter, what should we do now?!”

Harry frowned, still looking at Death and then turned to Malfoy. “We’ll separate. You need to find the mole in the Ministry, I’ll keep looking around here. We found Addison in the Scottish Highlands. Fake-Voldemort must be around here as well.”

Malfoy shook his head. “Not happening! I won’t let you snoop around Neo Death Eater’s business. What if they see you?”

“Then they’ll bring me to Voldemort and I’ve found him.”

“And what do you plan on doing when you find him?” Malfoy stood in front of him, hands on his hips and shaking his head.

 _Taking his energy and returning him to the dead…_ , Harry thought, but shrugged his shoulders. “We’ve fought before. I won. This time, it’s not even Tom Riddle in this body. The soul banished to this kind of life would probably be happy to be released.”

Malfoy huffed in annoyance. “There are a lot of Neo Death Eaters around him – I’m sure of it. You should also get out of there alive now, right?”

“I think the most important thing is to have Voldemort dead so he can’t terrify the wizards and witches.”

“And what about your children?”

Harry stopped dead in his tracks and bit his lower lip. If he were to die, his children would be orphans. He knew that the people around him would take care of them in a loving way, but Kay had already lost her love. If she were to lose him too, it would destroy her in every possible way.

“I should go with you, Potter. Fight the Dark Lord first, find the mole later” he offered and it seemed as if there was no way of turning back.

“Okay” Harry nodded. “Let’s go. I think I know where they were headed.”


	25. Chapter 25

The footprints of blue Death Magic led them through a valley at the very back of the Highlands. They had been following them for almost a full day (and night) and the sun was now about to settle again for the next day. It was cold, freezing actually, and it had rained all day long. Luckily, Harry had found out that Death magic tracks couldn’t be erased by rain.

Malfoy had questioned his sanity twice already, when he had kept walking higher and higher and through some wild life that seemed unbreakable. But Harry had followed the steps, taken the Death Magic into his own system and ignored Malfoy’s question about where they were heading. He didn’t know, honestly. He just knew that following the footsteps would lead him to the hide out of either Tom Riddle’s body and someone else’s soul or the actual head quarters of the Neo Death Eaters. The first one would be a good thing, for the second one they were a few Aurors short.

They had walked through a very calm village, when Death appeared in front of him. “You don’t happen to have anything important with you, do you, Paruluum?”

_If you mean the Cloak, the Wand and the Stone… no._

“Of course I mean that!” Death rolled his eyes, clearly furious. “You need to hide now. This village is a Neo Death Eater headquarter. All of the houses here are connected to a huge cellar which works as the base for any operation…” before Death could continue speaking, Harry grabbed Malfoy and pulled him into the shadows.

Malfoy was just about to say something, when Harry interrupted him. “Small problem, Malfoy” he started and looked out of the shadows anxiously. “We’re in the middle of the Neo Death Eater’s headquarter. I could do the German business idiot again, but anything else is improvisation…”

The Slytherin went even paler and looked at the quiet village. “Or we’re going full on improvisation, Potter.”

“What do you mean?”

“I could pretend to be taking you here. To show these idiots my respect maybe” Malfoy offered quietly.

Harry shook his head. “We don’t know who the mole in the Ministry is. Maybe it’s one of the upper levels who knows that you’re trying to get into bed with them so we have a spy in there…”

Malfoy narrowed his eyes. “I honestly don’t see any other chance of us getting in without having to try and get around security. But we need backup.” He looked at the sun that was about to go down behind the mountain. “Who do you trust? I’ll get Bones and Pansy.”

“Ron and…” he would have almost said Ginny, but he shook his head of her image and wet his lips. “Luna.”

Malfoy frowned. “Lovegood’s not Ministry.”

Shrugging his shoulders, Harry turned around and cast a Patronus telling Ron to come to this place for backup, since they had found the headquarters. “We don’t know who we can trust inside the Ministry” he then told Malfoy. “I’d rather put my life into the hands of someone I trust.”

Nodding, the Slytherin cast his Patronus and after having sent their four Patronusses, Harry gave Malfoy his own wand and the Slytherin accepted. “You’re giving me a lot of power. Are you sure you trust me?”

“With my life… Draco.”

They looked at each other, and Malfoy inhaled deeply, before getting out of the shadows, poking his own wand into Harry’s back. He looked around, frowning and loudly walked through the village. Harry somehow led him to a house, where he saw the bluish footprints disappearing.

Before they reached the house, the door was pulled open and a woman in their age stood there. Behind her, a few shadows left the house to stop and stare at Harry. He ignored them and let Malfoy push him closer to the woman.

“I’m looking for some of my friends” Malfoy said with an air of old arrogance.

The woman chuckled and turned around. “You’ll never guess who’s triggered the alert, Harv! Come and look at that!”

A man walked out, grunting. It reminded Harry a lot of Uncle Vernon. He looked at the two men and showed a rather dirty smirk. “Draco Malfoy! The lost son returns home. And you’re finally alone without any of your associates.”

“Well” Malfoy started and smiled. “I have found that the associates I’ve had are either out to kill me or not interested in anything that I want to achieve. And I’ve decided to bring someone else to justice.” He motioned towards Harry and the Uncle Vernon type man chuckled.

“Harry Potter. It’s an honor to have you die in my home.” With that he waved the two of them into the house. Harry felt Death close and nodded slightly.

The second they entered the home, Harry recognized a red Glow of Death around Malfoy. _Fuck. That’s not good_ , Harry thought and bit his lower lip. He decided to keep watch over the Slytherin. The last time he had seen this, the Trainee Aurors had died. He was not going to let Malfoy die as well.

The Uncle Vernon guy brought Harry and Malfoy down to the cellar and both Aurors widened their eyes. It was basically a city underneath the village. There were torches everywhere, lighting up the huge hall. Small and bigger fires were scattered around. There were people dueling on the one side, others were learning about some kind of Dark Magic.

Suddenly, the hall went quiet and all eyes seemed to be on them. Harry tried his best to shield Malfoy from any potential spells thrown his way. Harv pushed Harry further and Malfoy followed, his wand out, holding it towards Harry. They walked down the busy ‘street’ to a house-like structure. Inside sat Voldemort, clearly not understanding what was going on.

“Look who we’ve found, oh Dark Lord!” Harv said and showed an evil grin while bowing.

Malfoy seemed to think that going down the servant route seemed to be safer. “My Lord” he said, bowing to Tom Riddle slightly. “I’ve brought you your nemesis – Harry Potter.”

It was quiet inside the hall. Harry only heard Death laughing quietly on his left. Voldemort stared at Harry for a while until he got up from his chair. He walked a few steps, before he stopped and stared again.

“So, Harry Potter” Tom Riddle started. “Why aren’t you kneeling at my feet?”

Shaking his head, Harry wasn’t sure whether the soul had been the one asking that out of arrogance or whether that was an actual question. “Why would I be bowing to the person I’ve defeated over twenty years ago? You should be bowing to me!”

“How dare you, Potter!” Malfoy called and instead of casting a spell upon him, hit him in his face. Harry was actually thankful for that.

He fell to his knees, glaring at the Slytherin. It was easy to revert back into their old hatred for each other. “This is the Dark Lord, you imbecile! It’s a huge honor that he has decided to grace us with his presence one more time!”

Death laughed, as if he was enjoying this moment very much. Harry rolled his eyes, not for Malfoy but for Death’s entertainment. However, it also worked in this case.

A voice cut through the quiet crowed and both Harry and Malfoy looked up to see the person, quite possibly being the mole. They hadn’t thought that would ever be happening.

“Drop your act, Auror Malfoy. It’s believable, but not really called for.” An older guy with grey long hair walked through the crowd. “Expelliarmus!” Draco’s wand flew through the air and right into his hand.

“Auror Garrick!” Harry said and narrowed his eyes. “You’re the mole!”

Garrick’s icy blue eyes found Harry and he smiled grimly. “I am no mole, Mr. Potter. I believed that the greatness of the wizardkind can and will be improved by the time Lord Voldemort takes back his throne. Being an Auror only gave me the possibility to figure out when that was going to happen.”

Garrick seemed to be the ringleader in this. Harry narrowed his eyes. Draco was suddenly glowing deeply red. Harry felt his Death Sense activating and turned to his left where a young woman, about the age of Tyndall, grabbed her wand tighter.

_She’s going to kill him!_

“Don’t do anything, Paruluum” Death said and shook his head. “This is a test.”

The woman slowly brought up her wand and pointed it at Draco. _I cannot let him die!_

“Avada Kedavra!” she screamed, Draco winced and Harry pushed himself up and jumped into Draco, who fell to the floor – alive.

Death looked at him disapprovingly. “Paruluum! I told you not to save him!”

_He was glowing red, I can save red glowing people! That’s in the rulebook, Death!_


	26. Chapter 26

Harry got up and felt his anger burning furiously. Death said something, but Harry couldn’t hear it. Garrick was a bad guy, some fake Death Eater woman wanted to kill Draco and Voldemort was glowing darkly blue. With a loud scream, he felt energy burst out of him. The blue Glow of Death around Voldemort latched itself onto the stronger Death Magic and the corpse fell into pieces.

The room started burning, torches and fires exploding from the pure and raw energy of the Death Magic. Garrick tried to get some air, but died and his head exploded afterwards. The people around them fell lifeless to the floor.

Harry felt a few magical strings that felt friendly and was brought back to reality. He fell to the floor, exhausted, and felt his insides cramping. There were five voices he couldn’t really place to anybody and then he was apparated.

The next time he opened his eyes, he was lying in a hospital bed. Every fiber in his body hurt and he would have loved to say something, but his voice seemed to be nonexistent. Argui Dawjan sat on a visitor’s chair, reading some magazine, when he looked up. “Welcome back, Paruluum. You took quite the nap, three days!”

_What happened? Did you take my voice again?_

Death carefully placed the magazine on the table and got up. “No, Harry Potter. Your magic was getting out of control. You haven’t been training as well as I thought you had. Draco Malfoy, Ronald Weasley, Luna Lovegood, Pansy Parkinson and Susan Bones brought you here after you killed everyone in the Death Eater base.”

Harry frowned. _How did I kill everyone?_

“Death Magic, Harry Potter. You were angry at everyone, except Draco Malfoy, and you killed them. This was why I wanted you to train your Death Magic first. If used properly, you could have killed this woman and Juan Garrick without having to get the others.”

Rubbing his eyes, Harry sighed. _What happened to Voldemort?_

“You took back your magic and he dissolved.”

The door opened and Draco slipped in, closing it quietly. He seemed to want to sit down, when he looked up and saw Harry wide awake. “Em… hi.”

Harry tried to give a friendly ‘hi’, but he only managed a scratchy “Ey”.

Draco smirked. “No voice again, Potter. This is getting quite the norm for you, wouldn’t you agree?” He winked. “Oh wait, you can’t answer.”

Harry rolled his eyes, but smirked nonetheless. _When can I talk again, Death?_

“A few days, I would assume. And in these days we have a lot to go through, if we want to get this thing under control” Argui Dawjan answered and disappeared.

“So” Draco said and looked at the floor. “I wanted to thank you for saving my life, P… Harry. I really didn’t see that coming.”

Since he couldn’t say anything, Harry only nodded. “’s okay…” he whispered, which made Draco chuckle.

“I know you think so. But this is why I’d rather stay with the Passive Aurors. I’d rather go through the crime scene when everything’s done.”

Harry froze, hoping that Draco hadn’t had the chance to go through this scene. If he would, he would probably find a lot of this weird magic he had found a few weeks ago. And since he had seen Harry casting it… there would have probably been no question as to what had happened.

Draco smiled. “You know what the weirdest thing is, Harry? Right after we got you out of there, the whole village collapsed. Lovegood thinks it was because the pillars underground weren’t holding it up anymore. Your friend Weasley believes that the Dark Lord had something to do with it.”

“You?” Harry whispered raucously.

“I don’t know what to believe. I was in such an adrenaline rush; I thought you somehow made Garrick’s head explode… You didn’t even have your wand!” Draco chuckled and Harry joined in, hoping the Slytherin hadn’t seen his facial expression.

Draco smiled. “Anyway, let me get the Healer for you, Harry.” With that he left again and Harry sighed loudly. That went somehow okay…

In the quiet that followed, he almost would have forgotten that Death was once again standing there. Only when he opened his eyes again, did he realize how this immortal being stood next to him.

“You seem to have Lady Luck on your side, Paruluum. If that village didn’t fall down, Draco Malfoy would have found out about you having Death Magic.”

Harry nodded. _I do have fate on my side as well. If you hadn’t told me about the village being a Neo Death Eater base, I would have walked right into it through the front door. That way we could at least make a plan._

Death didn’t seem to like Harry having said that, since he snorted and walked to the window. Just then, Ainsworth walked in. Right behind him, a Healer and Draco.

“Harry! I’m so glad you’re okay!” Ainsworth said and held his hands out as if he expected Harry to get off the bed and hug him. Instead, Harry frowned. His boss had never used his first name and it made this whole situation even weirder.

Draco who stood behind Ainsworth was already shaking his head and Harry smirked slightly. “Auror Ainsworth, did Auror Malfoy tell you about the mole in the Ministry?” he whispered.

Ainsworth dismissed this comment with a wave of his hand and smiled broadly. “We will be having you on your feet again in no time!” Apparently, he pretended not having heard Harry.

The Healer checked up on Harry and after some uncomfortable five or seven minutes, he concluded that everything was fine and that he needed to rest his voice for two days. Harry’s boss seemed extremely happy about that and gave both Harry and Draco a few days off.

When the Healer and Ainsworth had left the room, Harry turned to Draco. “Something’s off.”

The Slytherin nodded. “You’re telling me. I’ve got a contract that gives me ten days off a year. I’ve already used them.”

“Do you think Ainsworth’s one of them as well?” Harry asked trying to speak as clear as possible, but coughed at the end.

“That’s my suspicion, Harry.”

Draco just wanted to add something, when the door was opened again. This time it wasn’t a Healer and nobody from the Ministry or his friends, but Narcissa Malfoy. Harry widened his eyes when he saw a silvery Glow of Death surrounding her.

 _She’s immortal?_ Harry asked Death, not wanting to look at him, but kept an eye on the woman.

“Yes.”

“Oh thank Merlin, you’re fine, Draco! I was so worried we tried to get a hold of you for three days!” she said and opened the door wider to hurry to her son’s side. “Hello Harry.”

Harry silently greeted her and Draco quickly explained that he didn’t have a voice. What surprised Harry the most was that Draco lied as to what they had been up doing. There was no talk about the Neo Death Eaters, none about the resurrection of Voldemort and nothing about the mole in the Ministry. Harry had always thought that Draco was so close to his mother, that he would be telling them everything.

Narcissa looked as if she didn’t quite believe what story Draco was telling her, though she didn’t say anything. She looked at Harry questioning, but since he didn’t say anything or made a face when Draco said something untrue, she apparently decided to believe her son.

“Narcissa?” Lucius Malfoy entered the room, silver glow and all. “We’re leaving, honey.”

Draco’s mother bid goodbye and told Harry to come visit her once he was doing better. He hadn’t visited her in quite some time. Neither had her son, so she made him promise that as well. Neither of them had been there since Draco had become a Passive Auror, but Harry did understand why. Draco had a home himself, he wasn’t going to show up at the Manor without any reason.

Harry nodded and Narcissa smiled at him, hugged her son one more time and left.

There was tension in the air, which seemed to radiate off of Draco. He didn’t look Harry and once he did, he was frowning.

“Please don’t hate me for telling stories to my mother. It’s just that… I don’t want her to…” Draco tried to say something, but it didn’t seem to work.

He stood close enough to Harry’s bed so that he could put his hand on his arm and smile at the stunned silence. “You don’t have to explain anything to me, Draco. I understand. Sometimes the truth isn’t what you want your closest people to know.”

Draco nodded gratefully that Harry seemed to understand.

“I’ll go and snoop around the Ministry then.” The Slytherin smirked. “If I find something, I’ll tell you.”

Harry frowned. “Why do you trust me, Draco? If Ainsworth’s tainted by the Neo Death Eaters, I could be too!” His voice was very thin and even the whispers now hurt.

“I don’t know. You told me you trust me with your life” Draco said, smiling slightly. “I do too, always have. And I think that the only way you would be in bed with the Neo Death Eaters would be to get close to them so you could take them out.”

“I brought you to their headquarters…”

Draco chuckled. “That – I believe – is something you’ve just said: Sometimes the truth isn’t what you want the people to know.” Harry smiled weakly, while Draco continued. “I do hope that soon I can convince you to tell me how you found the nest.”

With that, Draco left the room and Harry was left alone, only accompanied by his own thoughts. Well, and the silent company of Death.


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just a quick reminder: I’m not a medical professional, so in this chapter, there might be some mistakes… Please ignore it and think of it as… magical xD

“Isn’t this rather risky, Death?” Harry asked as soon as he opened his eyes and found himself in Death’s realm. “I mean, I’m in a hospital. What if someone walks in and sees no pulse and they try and get me back to ‘life’?”

Argui Dawjan chuckled clearly amused. “I keep an eye out for anyone who might be walking in on you, Paruluum. For now, I would like you to try and confine your Death Magic.”

Once again, Death stripped the air of any magic and made him sit on the floor. He brought a candle to stay right in front of him – in the air. Harry looked at it slightly confused and turned to Argui Dawjan.

Before he could say something, Death explained. “I want you to control the Death Magic as much as you can. It’s still a rather wild magic and if your emotions get confused, it will try and get out, but as long as you _learn every day_ , you should be fine.”

Harry rolled his eyes. “Thank you Death. This reminds me of Hogwarts and you seem to take after Hermione.”

A soft whisper called from somewhere “Granger.”

“She’s a good witch.”

Nodding softly, Harry agreed. He also thought that she was a good mother. Her three children would have loved to get another sibling – especially a baby in the house. Ron and Hermione had always been fun and sometimes Harry had feared that his children had liked their uncle and aunt much more than him.

“Paruluum!” a voice cut through his thoughts and Harry shook his head. 

“Sorry.”

Death raised his eyebrows and grinned. “As I said” he apparently repeated himself. “Your task is to light the candle while keeping it afloat in a magicfree surrounding. This will surely bring you to the furthest point of comfort.”

Harry nodded, intent on getting it on his first try. However… The candle fell to the ground quite comically when Death had counted down from three. Harry stared at the candle as if it had somehow hurt his feelings…

The only amused being was Death, laughing loudly, while letting the candle float again. “Try again.” He said smirking.

“Hey, Death. When I’m better at all of this, can I also strip the air of any magic in the real world?” Harry asked, trying once again to concentrate on the candle.

“Of course. Once you’re better at this, you can even read everyone’s mind. Even if they are Aurors and have learnt the best techniques on how to close off their minds. Now focus.”

The candle fell once again, though stopped a few inches over the floor, before sinking towards the stone like a feather. Harry groaned. “This is hopeless.”

Death shook his head. “You tried twice, Paruluum. Let’s try again.”

Once again, the candle flew into the air and Harry narrowed his eyes. He needed to tap into his own magic. Death Magic surely had some power in a magicfree environment.

It happened in slow-motion. Harry felt Death letting go of the candle. His magic caught the candle and let it float. With another move, Harry tapped into the magic and created fire. However… the candle lay on the floor again.

“Oh come on!” Harry rolled his eyes.

“Impressive.”

Glaring at Death, Harry scuffed. “Yes, of course. Thank you!” he said sarcastically.

Death smirked. “I actually mean it, Paruluum. This was your third try and you already could make the candle float in the middle of the air! You do need to fix your multitasking, because this is all I’m doing currently. But other than that, I think you’re close to being a better student.”

Harry was stunned into silence and Death smirked. “We’ll continue for a while, but the next real lesson starts in the other world, once you’re out of the hospital.”

They continued their lesson and once morning hit St. Mungo’s, Harry was back in his body, having somewhat mastered the multitasking aspect. At least the candle was now very slowly sinking to the earth while being lit by the magic. Death had been very pleased by his progress.

Actually, now that Harry was back in this world, he felt as if his voice had been healed as well. Clearing his throat, Harry sat up in his bed. “This…” he slowly started, listening to his own voice and being pleased by the results, “is awesome!”

Just then the door was opened and a friendly face appeared. “You being in St. Mungo’s isn’t awesome, mate!”

Harry turned to look at Ron and grinned. “Sorry, Ron. I’m just happy that I have my voice back.”

“You scared us! ‘Mione wanted to join me in being your backup, but she had cramps all day long! That’s the reason we came back a little earlier. And then when I’m there, I see Parkinson and Susan and for some reason Luna and Malfoy? I have no idea what happened there!” Ron shook his head. “I’m just glad we got out of there alive!”

Smirking, Harry nodded. “Thank you for coming to my rescue, really. Draco and I accidentally walked into a Neo Death Eater headquarter and rather than coming back with backup, we decided to take a look inside.”

Ron smirked and walked closer. “You two are crazy. I would have thought you would do that, but not a Slytherin!”

“Yes, I believe he’s turning into quite the Gryffindor” Harry admitted and hugged his best friend. “How’s Hermione? She’s having cramps?”

This made Ron slightly concerned. “Yes, we came back two days ago and suddenly, she wasn’t feeling well. She’s now here at St. Mungo’s, but the Healer says it might be something with the baby.”

Harry went pale. So this was it… “Is there something I can do to help?” Harry asked, while Death appeared behind Ron, shaking his head.

“No, mate. We just need to hope that the baby is stronger than this. The Healers told me that… it might…” Ron swallowed hard and cleared his throat. “I think Hermione and the baby will be fine!”

Before Harry had time to say something in return, a Healer entered the room and nodded at Ron. “’Mione and I would be happy to see you once you’re free to walk around” his best mate said, before he walked out.

The Healer smiled and conducted all kinds of tests for a considered amount of time, until he smiled at him again. “Everything seems to be fine, Auror Potter. Could you just for the record say something?”

Harry sighed; this was always awkward, when someone told you to say something. “Of course, Healer Abram. I do believe as well, that I’m good to go.”

His Healer chuckled and signed his release forms. “Auror Weasley and his wife are a level below us, room three-seven.”

Shaking his head, Harry wondered briefly how his Healer had known about it, but decided not to question it. He quickly made his way to their room and stopped, when he saw the room.

“Don’t. Save. Her. Daughter.” Death sounded behind Harry.

He turned around and frowned. _I thought you told me that green Glows of Death couldn’t be saved anyway._

Death shrugged his shoulders. “You have a hero complex, Harry Potter. That’s no secret. You would probably do a lot if you even as much as figured she had a chance.”

“Probably true” Harry said out loud and walked into his best friends’ room.

What he saw, he would never forget: Hermione lay on the bed, white as chalk and sweating profusely. She looked up, eyes helpless and aimlessly darting around the room. Her face was lit up by the green Glow of Death around her stomach. There was pain in the air and Harry stopped at the door, before quickly moving away, when he heard Healers approaching.

The door was ripped open by Ron and two Healers rushed in behind him. “Mrs. Weasley, you need to hold on!”

“The baby’s too small to be able to live outside of her body. Not even magic can help!” the second Healer said quietly.

Harry faced Ron who looked positively traumatized. Even as an experienced Auror, when it came to one’s family, nobody wanted something bad to happen to them. The two Healers took out their wands, when Hermione screamed loudly and before she started chocking on what seemed to be air.

Both Healers stopped dead in their actions for a second, before the older one sent out the youngest. “Go get Hornsby!”

Ron’s eyes were wide open and Harry felt himself shake slightly. _She’s not supposed to die, Death! Her baby’s glowing not her!_

The older Healer recovered her lungs, placing Hermione in a temporary coma, though her body was still seizing. Ron fell to his knees, breathing heavily, while Harry quickly walked over to him.

“Hey, Ron, hey! She’s not going to die!”

Healer Hornsby rushed in and looked at her quickly, before turning to Ron. “Mr. Weasley, the baby’s causing your wife to weaken. It seems to be too magically strong for her to keep carrying it, but we can’t separate them, the baby won’t have a chance. You need to face a decision, now. We can safe your wife or your child.”

Harry stared at his best friend, but didn’t dare to say something. If he made Ron choose Hermione, he would then be the driving force in killing his child.

“Ron… Ron are you listening?!” Harry shook his friend’s shoulders, but he seemed to be in shock, staring at the floor.

Healer Hornsby turned to Harry, but he shook his head. “I’m not making such a decision! I’m not her family.”

“We have only one more minute to save Mrs. Weasley.”

Harry turned to Ron, forced his head up to look at him and looked serious. “Ron, come back, now! You can’t go under; you need to be there for your family!”

Ron stared at him blankly. “I can’t” he whimpered.

“You need to! Hermione and the baby might both die now, if you don’t make the choice.”

“How can you say something like that! She’s my wife!” He tried to get out of Harry’s grasps, but he kept him locked away. Who knew what would happen if Ron would get in there!

“Save her! Save my _wife_!”


	28. Chapter 28

Sitting on the front steps of St. Mungo’s, Harry must have looked rather homeless. For the Muggles at least. He saw the scene he had seen a good thirty minutes prior in front of him a thousand times. Hermione or the baby... Hermione or the baby. It slowly transformed itself into Ginny or Thelo. Ginny or Kay. Ginny or Nate. Ginny or the twins.

How could anybody choose between the wife or the child?! No one should be forced to make this decision.

Argui Dawjan hadn’t shown himself ever since the Healers magically removed the baby. She stayed alive a few more minutes, fought against the roughness of the world, but died then in Ron’s arms. He broke down sobbing and needed to be sedated as well, before he would run amok in there.

It wasn’t fair. These two were the happiest couple. The best parents. Yet, here they were. Hermione was barely alive, the baby dead. Ron was out somewhere inside St. Mungo’s and he sat on the front step, wondering what life had to offer him.

“Hey.”

Looking up, Harry noticed a certain Slytherin standing in front of him. “Hi.”

“Are you okay?” Draco asked and walked closer, sitting down next to him carefully.

Harry silently shook his head. Only after a few quiet minutes, did he speak up. “I don’t think I could have made the decision Ron had to face today. How can you do that?” He felt himself tear up and groaned angrily.

Draco rubbed his back. “I honestly don’t know, Harry. I’m deeply sorry for having to witness that.”

“Ron’s having it worse.”

The Slytherin shook his head. “I don’t believe that. I do think he has a different kind of trauma than you have. But I think you need a little solace as well.”

Harry sighed, leaning against Draco’s shoulder. He really didn’t want to, but somehow he found solace in him. Soon, he found himself in deep grief over what could have happened and Draco pulled him closer and apparated away.

They arrived at Draco’s flat, on the sofa, where Draco seemed to be willing to let Harry cry. And that was what he did. He cried over everything. He cried about Ginny dying. About the difficult decision today he never had to make, but still felt responsible for. He cried about his daughter not having trusted him enough with her sexuality. And he cried about having been given the responsibility of being the Master of Death. He never had wanted it. Couldn’t he just have a nice and calm life until he would die?

Before he knew it, Harry opened his eyes again to see himself in Death’s realm. Frowning slightly, Harry hoped that he didn’t fall asleep on Draco’s couch and was by now looking as if he died.

Out of nowhere, Death appeared and frowned at Harry. “I’m proud of you. You didn’t try and save anyone today. You’ve come one step closer to being the Master of Death.”

“What if I don’t want to be this Master of Death?”

Argui Dawjan shrugged his shoulders. “You don’t get a say in that, Paruluum. If you don’t want it, the only option was to die. Which you didn’t and you can’t. So here we are.”

“You made Ron choose between Hermione and their daughter! What’s wrong with you!?” Harry was furious. How could Death just be okay with something like that?

Death smirked amused. “I did not expect her baby to be this strong with magic. I didn’t choose for it to end this way. Normal babies are much easier to…”

“I swear to God, if you don’t stop talking about killing babies, I will stop trying to control my Death Magic and try if I can kill you with it myself!”

Harry’s threat didn’t seem to surprise Death. “You see, Paruluum, as Death you do have difficult decisions to make and…”

“You didn’t decide!” Harry interrupted Argui Dawjan again. “ _Ron_ had to choose!” There was an echo calling _Weasley_ through the vast environment, though Harry didn’t care. “I just had to watch my best friend make a decision that will haunt and terrify him his entire life!”

Death raised his eyebrows. “I can see you’re angry, Paruluum. Come back once you’re over this.”

With that, Harry was pushed out of Death’s realm and he inhaled deeply, turning around and falling out of the bed, where he had been placed. Harry narrowed his eyes, while he stumbled back to his feet.

It was in the middle of the night and Harry opened the window to get some clear, cold air into the room. He stood there, staring at the dark and sleeping city, before he heard the door creak open.

“Oh, you’re awake” Draco said and Harry felt him walking closer. A hand was placed on his shoulder and Harry sighed.

“I’m sorry if I’m getting in your hair, Draco.”

The Slytherin shook his head. “You were basically dead tired when you stopped crying. I put you to bed in my guest room. I honestly didn’t know what else to do.”

Harry nodded and turned around. Draco was illuminated by the moon and looked like an angel, especially with his red pajamas. His smile was weak, yet drew Harry in. He breathed heavily and closed his eyes.

“I’m sorry, Draco.” He felt the Slytherin’s hands on his chest tighten. “I think I need to go home.”

When Harry opened his eyes, Draco nodded and gave him a soft smile. “I have a fire place in my kitchen. Come on.” He motioned Harry to follow him and he did.

Only when he was in his own home and equipped with whiskey, did he lean back and put on the TV. He knocked the alcohol back and lied down, hoping to have at least a few more minutes before Death would be pulling him back into his realm.

Sadly, that was not the case as Harry quickly realized that he was drifting off to sleep and therefore, back to Argui Dawjan.

Death looked at him silently and Harry decided that he could stay quiet as well. And so, for the longest time, they just looked at each other. Harry felt no happiness in this other realm, which he normally did. The floor looked dirty, the old lava rivers ridiculous and the sky which was weirdly red took away Harry’s appetite.

“Tell me, Paruluum, what does an orange Glow of Death mean?” was the first thing Death said.

“Fate – not meant to be saved.”

“How about black?”

“Cursed.”

“Silver?”

“Immortal.”

Harry stared at Death, not willing to be the first one to talk about what they had been arguing about. And well, Argui Dawjan seemed to be happy with doing a pop quiz.

“Green” Death said without any emotion.

Harry pressed his lips to a thin line and narrowed his eyes. “Child’s death; inside the mother’s womb or during birth.”

Death ripped all the magic from the air, created a scene on front of Harry which was a busy street and a car driving through the closed gates. “Save everyone except the red glowing people.”

Harry looked around and saw two shadows glowing red. There were about twenty shadows pretending to be people and the two red glowing ones weren’t even close enough. Without thinking too much, Harry let his Death Magic do the trick and tapped into it quickly. He made the car drive into the first pillar next to the house and it flipped through the air, grabbing the first red glowing person and then the second, landing on a free spot, which some shadows had vacated, seeing the car arrive.

Death nodded. It seemed as if he was slightly impressed. “Well done. You are now a Discipulus – Beginner.” He waved his hand and the snake biting its own tail-emblem appeared.”This Ouroboros is for you. Give it to whomever you choose.”


	29. Chapter 29

Harry knew immediately who he wanted to give this Ouroboros to. The only problem was that a few people could use it right now. At least he could narrow it down to four people: Hermione could definitely need it. Harry hadn’t wanted her to be in danger ever again. Having seen her fighting for her life against her own _baby_ was scary. 

Ron would also need it; he seemed extremely depressed since he had to choose between Hermione and their daughter, which they had called Seraphina Cael. Both names being those of angels.

On the other hand, his daughter Kayja seemed to be playing with death as of recently and he really didn’t want Argui Dawjan to take her from him. They had only just found to each other again.

And then, there was also another person who had recently started to get Harry’s attention: Draco Malfoy. He could use these things as well, just to keep him safe from all these Neo Death Eaters and Ministry Officials that seemed to be plotting against them.

Out of all of them, Harry knew that he was acting irrationally. He decided on his own daughter and hated how it didn’t seem as if Kay was in as much danger as Draco or Hermione were.

Quickly grabbing a quill and some parchment, Harry started writing a letter to his oldest daughter, not willing to start overthinking this decision – which he already had – and regret it then. It had only taken him the better part of the week to finalize this decision…

> Dear Kayja Ginevra
> 
> I hope you’re doing well. Please let me know how your dear brother, Thelonius, reacted to your news. I’m very much interested.
> 
> I am also very much interested in what NEWTs subjects you’ve picked. So far I’ve only heard from Nate, telling me that he hates me for not warning him about Divination. Just so I’m clear: I did warn him, didn’t I? Last summer, you heard it as well?
> 
> Now for other matters: I’ve enclosed a small object for you in this envelope. It’s an Ouroboros and I’m sure your Ravenclaw brain can tell you the rest about it. Please keep it attached to you at any time, as is gives you protection from any evil.
> 
> Once I’ll find more of them, I will give them to your siblings as well, but I’ve decided to start with you, my darling. I’m sure one day you’ll find someone!
> 
> I would also like to remind you that you can always talk to me, okay? I love you very much!
> 
> Love, Dad
> 
> _PS. There are also sweets in the package, give some of them to your siblings and friends. And no, there are no Chocolate Frogs, I think I can do without having to see a letter from McGonagall about people screaming about the ‘Harry James Potter’-Card. See you at Christmas!_

Harry sent his owl away with the package, where he had for some reason put more sweets in as he had originally planned. He yawned and sat down at the kitchen table with only black tea in front of him.

This day had been weird, next to Harry having needed too much time deciding who would get the Ouroboros.

Ron hadn’t been at the office of course. Ainsworth had given him a lot of free days. Draco and he hadn’t taken Ainsworth’s offer and worked nonetheless. Their boss hadn’t been pleased with it, but ignored them most of the day. That at least gave them a lot of time going over paperwork, which had grown over the course of the last few days. And well, there were still two days left on the ‘No Undercover Missions’-punishment, which Harry had called that way and Draco had adapted to that as well.

Harry had once again visited his friend and brought black roses. Normally, he would have never brought anything, but somehow they had attracted him and he bought them and gave them to Hermione who smiled weakly.

“They’re beautiful, Harry! Do you know where you bought them? Maybe they have the bulb, so I can plant some on Seraphina’s grave.”

Harry hugged her carefully. “I am so sorry, ‘Mione.”

His friend shook her head. “Don’t be, Harry. There’s nothing you could have done. I’m just glad to be alive” she smiled sadly. “Have you seen Ron today?”

Shaking his head, Harry denied it. “He might be home.”

“Maybe.”

That was all they’ve talked about. Hermione soon had her own parents as a visitor and Harry felt weird being there, so he bid goodbye and walked home through the rain.

So now, Harry sat in his own kitchen, thinking about life and how it had come to this, when suddenly Argui Dawjan aka Death appeared.

Harry grabbed his cup of tea and drank a little, before putting it down. “Look at that. I was just thinking about you, my friend” he said sarcastically.

Death raised his eyebrows, but Harry didn’t have the patience to be nice to the person that kind of destroyed his own life. Who in their right mind would actually trust an immortal being that called itself ‘Death’?!

“I am still able to read your mind, Paruluum.”

“Great! Keep doing it” Harry answered and rolled his eyes. “Also, I thought I wasn’t a baby anymore but a beginner.”

Death shook his head. “As long as you behave like a baby, I will keep calling you Paruluum.”

Harry chuckled, though he found this whole situation rather humorless. “Cheers to that, _Deathy_.”

He raised his cup and rolled his eyes. Why was this inhuman creature even here?! Did he want to tell him to do something? Maybe be happy about what happened a few... hours ago? Or was it days?

It seemed as if this immortal being wasn’t happy with Harry, but he didn’t say anything about that. “We’re having another lesson tonight.”

Nodding, Harry looked at Death and shrugged his shoulders. “Then why don’t you wait until I’m in my sleep so you can teach me?”

“Because this is better taught on actual red glowing people than on shadows.”

“Great. Let me just quickly slip into my ‘let’s get killing’-mood” Harry answered and threw the tea down the sink with some rather visible aggression, placing the cup on the counter, which made the handle fall off.

Death frowned. “I do not appreciate this kind of behavior, Paruluum.”

“Well, I don’t appreciate you messing with my life, yet here we are.”

Harry walked over to his things, grabbed some shoes and a jacket, before heading out, not caring whether or not Death was following him. His senses did tell him that this man was walking right next to him, but he really couldn’t care less.

They walked until they reached a quiet park in London. Since it wasn’t yet evening, a lot of parents had brought their children there, people were walking their dogs and others were reading newspapers.

“Here’s the lesson” Death said. “You can look into anybody’s life. However, people who are surrounded by a red Glow of Death give you easier access to their life. This is for you so you can decide on whether or not they have a purpose to keep on living.”

“Everyone has a purpose.”

Argui Dawjan shrugged his shoulders. “Yes and sometimes people need to die so that they are the purpose for some other people. Touch the woman walking the dog there” Death pointed at a twenty something girl with a red glow.

Harry sighed but walked over and ‘accidentally’ walked in her way. He touched her shoulder to excuse himself, when suddenly no noise seemed to exist.

“What is this?” Harry asked and looked around. He let go of the woman and it seemed as if he had pressed the Pause-button on a movie again. “I… I’m sorry” he said to the woman and walked away.

Death walked up next to him. “Time stops when you’re looking into people’s lives. That gives you about ten to twenty seconds to do that.”

Harry shook his head. “That’s not enough! How can I make such a decision in twenty seconds?!”

“Time moves slower when you’re in their bubble and looking at their lives.” Death looked around again and pointed at a man on his phone, trying his hardest to walk around running children. Once again, he had a red Glow of Death surrounding him. “Try him next.”

Harry once again walked closer, touching him and frowned at the noise-proof time freeze they were in. He looked back at the man and felt his Death Magic escape. It created scenes of this man. Screaming at his children. Drinking too much alcohol. His car looked nice. His house as well. But his family seemed to be frightened of him. Harry saw a few scenes that made him let go of the man.

“Sorry” he murmured. Had he just decided not to save this man?! Because of some pictures of this man’s life?!

 _I’m done for tonight, Death_ , Harry thought, taking his own phone and texting Draco to come and meet him at the Leaky Cauldron for some drinks. He really needed it. And he really couldn’t care less what Death was screaming into his ears.


	30. Chapter 30

“Ugh” Harry rubbed his forehead. “I think I’ve had too much to drink…”

Draco stepped into the cold night air next to him, rolling his eyes. “You think? You called Longbottom a ‘handsome prince in shining armor’.”

“Then why can I now think somewhat clearly again?” Harry shook his head and regretted it immediately, when a headache manifested itself rather quickly. He groaned again and almost stumbled over the path. The only stable thing was Draco, who caught him quickly.

The Slytherin smirked and helped him getting on his own feet again. “I gave you a Sober-Up Potion. A drunk Harry Potter is just not my area of expertise.”

“Mine neither, Draco.”

Draco chuckled and let Harry put a hand over his shoulders. Harry himself felt Draco’s hand on his waist, stabilizing him even more. “Let’s get you home so you can sleep it off, right?”

“Am I still drunk?” Harry asked and almost fell forward, but Draco caught him again.

Pulling Harry back into a standing position, the Slytherin frowned at him. “It does seem so, but I do think that the Sober-Up Potion should have done its magic by now. It usually works faster.”

Harry giggled and they managed a few more steps. “The potion has magical powers.”

“If I didn’t know it better, Potter, I’d say you were both high and drunk” Draco said, though Harry caught a grin on his lips.

Groaning again, he walked a few more steps and laughed suddenly. “Do you think the dragon we freed also drinks a lot of alcohol? I mean…”

The Slytherin shook his head. “Harry, what are you talking about? We’ve never ever freed a dragon!”

“The one in Gringotts, Draco. They had a dragon. It was _huge_!” Harry wanted to show the size with his hands and lost grip on Draco’s shoulder, stumbling to the floor, where he sat, puzzled over what just happened.

Draco crouched in front of him and smirked. “Are you okay, Harry?”

Harry laughed and rubbed his head. “What am I doing, Draco? Why am I here and how did that happen?”

Chuckling, Draco answered his question. “You drank too much at the Leaky, stumbled over your own feet and now you’re sitting on a sidewalk in the Middle of Muggle London, Potter. Not sure why you’d want to keep sitting here, but…”

“Did I ever tell you, Draco… that you look like…”

“A knight in shining armor?”

Harry nodded and frowned. “How did you know? Wait, didn’t I tell that someone as well…?”

Draco guaffed and pulled him back onto his feet. “You did, Harry. Come to think of it, I think you told every man you’ve met today that they resembled either knights or princes in shining armors. Actually, you told one he looked like an archer…”

“Why?”

Laughing, Draco shrugged his shoulders. “Beats me, Potter. I also don’t think we’re going to make it to Grimmauld Place with your condition. I live closer, we’ll go there. Unless you've got something against that.”

Harry gave an appreciative grunt and turned to walk into a dark alley. “Why doesn’t the Sober-Up Potion work faster?”

“It’s ’cause you were pissed, Potter.”

“Hey!”

Draco smirked. “What?! Speak the truth! That’s my motto.”

“What’s a motto?” Harry asked and giggled, answering his own lion king quote. “Nothing. What’s the motto with you?!”

“Are you still drunk, Harry?” Draco frowned at him and shook his head. “We’re almost there. Only two more streets, then you can sleep.”

Harry grinned and slumped, which meant that Draco had to basically carry him. “It’s a Muggle thing, Malfoy.”

“If you don’t get back up to your feet, I’ll do a Muggle thing to you!” the Slytherin threatened.

“Like what?”

Chuckling, Draco shrugged his shoulders. “I’m just realizing I haven’t thought this threat through.”

Harry chuckled, got himself better to his feet and they crossed the streets. Out of nowhere, Argui Dawjan appeared and Harry loudly screeched for a second and he jumped up, which made Draco frown at him.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“I think I can see Death…” Harry said amused and giggled. Since he was already quoting movies, he could as well go ahead and quote the Sixth Sense, even though it wasn't that accurate: "I see dead people!"

Draco shook his head. “I think I need to give you another Sober-Up Potion when we’re home.”

“Harry Potter, what are you doing?” Death asked and shook his head. “You’re supposed to be learning how to control your magic and be able to look into other people’s lives, not get drunk with some friends!”

“Who cares? I’m living my life to the fullest!” Harry laughed and started singing some song that was in his head.

Draco held his mouth closed and shook his head. “Harry, how drunk are you still?! I agree with you about living life, but you don’t have to wake up the neighbors.”

Smirking, Harry nodded and groaned to put himself back onto his feet. Argui Dawjan didn’t seem pleased with his reaction.

“Did you know that Death is mostly like Snape?” Harry asked and grinned dumbly. “Stuck up on some old history that nobody actually cares about. Oh, did you know that my mother actually loved Snape? That would have been fun, right? Harry Severus Snape.” Harry stopped walking and burst out laughing, so much that he fell on his arse.

Draco sighed and crouched in front of him again. He took a vial out of his satchel, which he gave Harry. “Drink up!”

Harry did so and felt the substance actually draining all alcohol from his blood. It felt brutal and almost like removing a very good plaster. Only inside his body. Removing it from his blood.

“Oh, shit. What was that?!” he asked and shook his head, though this time without a headache. Rubbing his eyes, he looked up at Draco and Death.

Sighing, Draco held out a hand and helped him getting up again. “That is my last minute Sober-Up Potion. It’s a little more aggressive and I decided you needed it, since you are a middle aged man, stumbling around Muggle London drunk. What do you think happens if the tabloids would find out?”

“News” Harry giggled, but cleared his throat rather quickly. “Sorry. I’m a little tired.”

“I know: That’s the potion. As I said, it’s rather aggressive. Let’s go” Draco motioned Harry to follow him and Harry did so without questioning it. He also didn’t question why Draco would let him into his own house and gave him the guest room.

He was in fact so tired, that he fell asleep as soon as he felt warmth surrounding him and he sighed happily. He didn’t see Death shaking his head and sitting down on a chair in Draco’s guest room, waiting until his pupil would be back to consciousness. Other things could wait.


	31. Chapter 31

“I feel as if we need to talk, Harry Potter.”

Harry groaned and rubbed his eyes. The sun was shining into his face and he could see the young, blond man aka Death sitting on the chair in the corner, as if he had been a grandfather, reading a book waiting until their grandchild would wake up.

_I don’t feel like talking, Death._

Argui Dawjan got up and nodded. “You don’t need to talk. You only need to listen.”

Somehow, this version of Death reminded him a lot of Remus or Sirius. Actually, more like Sirius. Crazy, over the top, but caring and definitely up for anything should Harry have decided to do something.

“Thank you, Discipulus, I do take it as a compliment, being compared to Sirius Black. I have seen him quite a lot of times, whenever I was around Azkaban.”

Harry couldn’t quite bite back a grin and sat up in his bed, looking at the blond man. _Well, not everyone would be seeing it that way, Death. But you’re welcome._

Argui Dawjan chuckled. “Alright” he started and walked closer, sitting down on the floor under the window with his legs crossed. “I know it’s hard for you – seeing the deaths and realizing that one day you might have to be the one choosing your victims. However, death isn’t just about the dead, Harry Potter. It’s about the living as well.”

With his Death Magic, Argui Dawjan opened what seemed to be wormhole with which Harry could see the driver that had hit the lady, when Death had first introduced himself. He was sitting on a bed, reading a children’s book. Inside the small bed lay three children and a dog slept at the foot of the bed. They seemed to be very into the story and a woman appeared at the door. She stopped from what she was doing and smiled at the scene inside, before walking away.

“Just a few weeks ago, he had thought about leaving his wife and children. He wasn’t sure whether she still loved him. And now look at what happened last night” Death said and smiled slightly.

Harry frowned. _And what about the husband of this woman who died? You said he wasn’t made for staying at home!_

Death nodded. “I did. Let’s take a look.”

There was a middle aged man, standing in the kitchen and cooking something. The kitchen looked chaotic, the man tired. A child appeared in the doorway and snuck up behind him. He smiled broadly, when his small son hugged his leg and pulled him up to his waist. They continued cooking breakfast together.

“Humans are weird creatures, Harry Potter. The weird thing is that they can adapt and learn from what happened in the past.”

Harry nodded silently, when Argui Dawjan continued. “You see, you think of this duty as destroying life, however, it is actually the opposite. You’re showing people that life is rare and that accidents and deaths can happen. It doesn’t mean that life stops for them.”

_But sometimes it does._

Death nodded once, thoughtfully. “I suppose. Sometimes the effect of losing a loved one can reach deeper than you anticipated. However, in my opinion, this would then be a case for Life. Not Death.”

Harry frowned. _You’re saying ‘Life’ as if it’s an actual person!_

“Life – much like myself – is an angel. Her name is Anima Azrael and she has vowed to protect the living as much as I – and soon you – protect the dead.”

Death smiled weakly and Harry had a feeling that there was more to this story, but Argui Dawjan started talking again. “Now. If you learn diligently and study as much as you can, you will get better at spotting the people you need to choose. Sometimes it is easy – the man yesterday for example, he was just a bastard – sometimes it’s harder and you have to look at a few more lives around them. With time, you can make this decision. I don’t think you can do it tomorrow, Harry Potter. You’re a Discipulus, not a Master.”

“Will that be on my final test then?” Harry asked a little amused and before Death could answer, the door opened and Draco walked inside.

“Good morning, you drunken bastard. I thought I heard you say something! How much of last night do you remember?” Draco asked and brought a platter of breakfast with him – mostly eggs, bacon and toast.

Harry widened his eyes and gratefully accepted breakfast in bed. “Is there something I’m supposed to remember?” he asked and frowned.

Draco laughed loudly and shook his head. “Not after we drank four firewhiskey’s each. I’m not sure how I was still able to walk and think properly, but you certainly weren’t.”

“Well, my alcohol tolerance isn’t that high. I’m surprised I didn’t pass out after the second one” Harry smirked and grabbed some bacon.

The Slytherin was quiet and after a short while, Harry glanced at Draco and realized how he seemed to be a little nervous. Was there something going on?

Apparently, Draco had somehow gathered his courage and looked up at Harry, blushing slightly when he realized that Harry had been watching him for a few seconds now.

“I… I wanted to ask you something…” Draco stopped again and Harry smiled slightly. Before he could say something, the Slytherin continued rambling. “I mean, I don’t know what you think and you can say no, definitely. I’m not even sure you would be interested in anything like… Oh Merlin, what am I even doing…”

“Draco!” Harry chuckled and shook his head. “Just ask! I promise I won’t… I don’t know… judge you or laugh at you or whatever you’re apparently afraid of.”

The blond man shook his head. “It’s not that. I’m just…”

Harry places his hand on Draco’s and realized all of a sudden that he had placed not only his hand on Draco’s, but also surrounded the Slytherin with calming Death Magic. He quickly took it back, not willing to find out what happened when you exposed human life for a few minutes to this kind of magic.

However, it seemed to have done its magic and Draco looked slightly relaxed. “I wanted to ask you… if you’d like to go on a date with me.” The Slytherin stood up quickly and walked back a few steps. “Sorry, never mind that, I overstepped and I wasn’t thinking, really, it won’t happen again!”

Harry got out of bed and walked closer, trying his hardest not to laugh at what once had been Draco Malfoy. How had this normally so snarky and confident turned into a teenager?

“Draco, look at me, please.” His grey eyes found Harry’s, still looking slightly scared and surprised that he had actually managed to ask him that. “I would love to go on a date with you, you damn Snake!”

Draco seemed to be frozen in place, since he looked as if someone had just told him something unbelievable. Harry raised his eyebrows. “Are you okay?”

“Did you just say… yes?!”

“I believe I did, _Malfoy_. Life is too short to ignore people liking you. And we both know I could never ignore you.”

This made the Slytherin burst out laughing and he shook his head. “The whole Wizarding World would like to date you!”

Harry gave a lopsided grin. “Well that feeling isn’t mutual. And just in case you’ve been wondering: I’m bi, so…”

“So you could be dating everyone in the Wizarding World!” Draco finished Harry’s sentence.

Rolling his eyes, Harry pushed Draco softly to the wall and stepped in front of him. Draco was staring at his lips and Harry felt his own heart beating quickening and he breathed faster. Before the Slytherin had any time to lean in and capture his lips, Harry used all his power to put his mouth next to Draco’s ear. “And maybe after this date, you’ll be getting a goodnight kiss.”

With that, he winked at the Slytherin and walked to the kitchen and floo’d back to his home, getting ready for the free day and some more training with Death.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sirius is my baby! I couldn’t stop but mentioning him and I do believe I might throw him into this story on a later point as well – not alive I’m afraid. I’m no wizard ;)


	32. Chapter 32

The restaurant Draco had chosen was located in Las Palmas in Spain. They had taken a portkey on Sunday night and Harry hadn’t questioned it. It seemed to be a rather romantic dinner on the first advent. Harry knew that Draco always had an unusual taste, however… The restaurant was called El Diablo, which Harry knew meant ‘The Devil’ and when Draco brought him there, Harry had stopped dead in his tracks. On the door there was a certificate that stated ‘No Immediate Death by Volcano’.

“Draco, what is this place?”

The Slytherin grinned and turned around. “It’s a Muggle restaurant that cooks the food on top of an active volcanic. It’s really good and you can even have a tour through the ‘kitchen’.”

Harry frowned and shook his head. “An active volcano?! I think you’ve lost all willingness to live. Why would you bring me along to your death?”

Draco laughed and grabbed his hand, leading him to their table, which the waiter had already showed them. “Stop being dramatic, Potter, I’m supposed to be the Drama Queen. My family always ate here when we went to Spain. It’s much better than the magical restaurants. And” he winked at Harry, “you can brag about having eaten food from a volcano!”

Smirking now as well, Harry took the place on the opposite side of Draco and looked out the window, where he could actually see the food being prepared on the grill that led to the core of the earth. When he looked around, he suddenly found that more than half of the people here were surrounded by different shades of red Glows of Death.

“I have to admit I never had food cooked on top of a volcano and I’ve never had such a… weird date” Harry smirked and accepted the menu, not willing to think of all the people there.

Draco grinned as well and shrugged his shoulders. “Well, I’ve wanted to do something special. I mean, I know you travel a lot with your children, but I can’t imagine you bringing them here.”

“Under no circumstances!” Harry shook his head, but laughed after that. He started reading over the English translation and decided for a specialty from the volcano. It sounded as if he was going to be served rocks and lava, but he was intrigued.

Harry let Draco order the wine – he had a much better taste in that. They talked about work, about family and Harry’s children. To Harry it seemed as if Draco was a little more on the side of Diana, probably simply because she was a Slytherin. But he also liked Nate in his Slytherin antics, but a Ravenclaw child.

“I always kind of wanted to be in Ravenclaw. I was really sad when the hat put me in Slytherin. But my parents were happy.” The Slytherin (secret Ravenclaw) rolled his eyes.

Smiling slightly, Harry shrugged his shoulders. “I decided after meeting you and hearing how bad you talked about everything, that I wanted to be everything but Slytherin.”

Draco laughed. “Fair point.”

“The hat actually wanted to put me in Slytherin, but I told it that I wanted everything but Slytherin and he said… okay ‘Gryffindor’” Harry explained and smirked over Draco’s open mouth.

“Why did you get to choose and I didn’t?! That is so unfair!”

They both started to laugh and Harry finished his glass of wine. They continued talking for a while, until Draco grinned, a little red in his face. Harry wasn’t sure whether it was from the alcohol or because Harry had said something flattering a few seconds ago.

“Do you want to hear something embarrassing?”

Harry chuckled and grabbed his wine glass. “About Draco Malfoy? Of course!”

Draco grinned at that and rolled his eyes. He apparently decided to say it nevertheless. “Well, before we came here, I actually googled good conversation topics and I am so ashamed of it.”

Harry had some difficulties swallowing the wine, rather than spitting it out, but managed it and started laughing as quietly as he could. “Tell me, Draco. Please, tell me about those conversation topics!”

The Slytherin laughed and shook his head. “You are weird, Harry. There was a question saying: What were you like as a child?” Draco grinned. “No need to answer this, do we, Potter?”

“Definitely not, ferret.”

“Thanks, scar face.”

Grinning, Harry took another bite and wordlessly asked Draco to say something else.

“What would you do if you won one million Galleons?”

Harry looked up from his plate and grinned, before swallowing. “One million Galleons?! I’d probably buy Gringott’s. Do you have any idea how much money that is?!”

Draco laughed. “Well, Google said it was one million _dollars_ , I just changed it into something I can understand.”

Smirking, took another bite. “Well, what would you do, Draco?”

“Probably buy a farm somewhere, retire from this stupid Auror business and open up some kind of horse retreat.”

Harry had just wanted to answer something, when out of the corner of his eyes, he saw something silvery. Thinking that maybe the volcano had somehow exploded and transformed all the pans into a steaming liquid, he turned his face to find a strange man surrounded by the silver Glow of Death.

Somehow he was transfixed by the beauty of this young man. He had brown hair with silvery strains and his eyes also had slight blue with silver diamonds in them. His clothes had been carefully chosen and Harry felt some kind of deep connection towards him.

When he turned back to Draco, the Slytherin had narrowed eyes and stared at him. Harry frowned. “What?”

Draco sighed. “’What’? That’s the only thing you have to say for yourself? You’ve just checked out another man while being on a date!”

“Oh come on, Draco. You’re overreacting. I wasn’t…”

The Slytherin shook his head. “I know what I’ve seen. Why would I even think you’d like to go out with me? I’m just some kind of a dead loss, am I not?!”

He got up and stormed out. Harry really wanted to go after him, however, they hadn’t paid and the man with the silver Glow of Death sat down where Draco had sat a few seconds later.

“I couldn’t help but overhear” he said in an impeccable English accent.

Harry motioned to the waitress that he had wanted to pay and tried his best to ignore the man. His Death Sense was tickling and he felt somehow taken in by this weird stranger. Luckily, the waitress brought the bill quickly and Harry paid her generously, walking out of the restaurant, not caring about the immortal, but hoping to find Draco around.

Of course, he wasn’t around. So, Harry walked to a hidden spot and got ready for a long-distance apparition. He had always hated them, but this time it seemed necessary.

Once he was home, he groaned. “Hey Death?!” Nothing. “Death!” Still nothing. Harry frowned. “Argui Dawjan?!”

Death appeared on the stairs and turned to look at him. “What can I do for you, Discipulus?”

“How can I get rid of immortals? The one today buggered up my date. After I told _you_ not to bother me during my date… There’s another stupid person to do it” Harry sighed and sat down on the floor.

Argui Dawjan shook his head. “Normally they don’t bother you. However, if it’s a family member, you will feel some sort of connection to them. Well, that or they might…”

Harry frowned as he looked at Death. “They might what?”

Death chuckled. “They might feel attracted to you as well.”

“Great. Just great.”

Death chuckled. “They also feel attached to you, so you might get a visit soon from basically any immortal.”

“It’s like I’m being stalked all over again!” Harry said rolling his eyes. “Isn’t there a way to get rid of immortals?”

The immortal being frowned. “In theory, yes. But nobody ever tried it. They have suffered for their immortality, you see. We don’t tend to take that away from them.”

Harry snorted. “Oh I’m sure Lucius Malfoy has suffered by ‘sacrificing’ his gay son to whatever Life’s name was.”

Death narrowed his eyes. “I have to agree, he didn’t seem bothered. I’m not sure his wife knows about this, though. Maybe with her help, you can turn these two back into mortals.”

Sighing, Harry nodded. “I have to talk to Draco in the morning.” He got up and stopped once he was on his feet. “Hey, short question: As Death, am I allowed to torture people? For example an immortal who sacrificed his own son without remorse?”

Argui Dawjan started laughing and disappeared into his own realm, not answering Harry’s question, which he positively grinned about. That was probably a ‘yes’. It most certainly was!


	33. Chapter 33

Draco wasn’t in the office. All his stuff was gone and Harry assumed that this meant Ron would be back. He was happy to have his best friend around again, but he needed to talk to Draco. Tell him that he was sorry about last night. Well… the night before last night.

The weekend or rather the rest of Sunday night had given Harry a lot of time to think and he was sure that he needed to talk to the Slytherin. If only to continue their previous relationship as friends.

Harry walked towards Draco’s office, when Ainsworth caught him and pulled him into his own office. “Thank Merlin you’re here, Potter. We have an emergency undercover mission and a major break in the Death Eater case!”

“Do you mean the Neo Death Eaters?” Harry asked frowning.

Ainsworth nodded. “One of our spies has recovered the hierarchy. Tyndall and Hackney, they were all very high! Garrick as well. But the actual mind behind all of this is…”

 **Ainsworth** , a shadow whispered behind Harry’s boss and rushed back behind the curtains.

Harry frowned. His boss had apparently said a name, but Harry hadn’t caught it. “I’m sorry, who?”

“Martin Lynn!” Ainsworth repeated and shook his head. “He’s currently staying in Cambridge and I’ve assigned you another undercover personage. Auror Weasley will be joining you, as well as Auror Malfoy.”

 **Martin Lynn is innocent** , was another shadow’s whisper and Harry narrowed his eyes as he got up, folder in hand and left the office.

Outside, he walked into Draco and both fell to the floor. “Draco. I’ve been meaning to talk to you. Listen, I’m…”

“Save it, Potter. I’ve had enough bad news, today. One of my employees died yesterday and now I have to go back undercover again with you and Weasley” Draco rolled his eyes and got back up to his feet. He turned and walked into Ainsworth’s office.

 _Nathan Blackrose must have died_ , Harry thought and sighed, hoping to get a chance to show Draco that he hadn’t meant what had happened on Saturday.

When he entered his own office, it was lit up by a red glow. A red Glow of Death surrounding his best mate. Again. Harry bit down a growl and silently cursed his teacher. He then decided to turn his focus to his best friend.

Ron clearly wasn’t ready to go out into the fields again. He had bloodshot eyes and slumped over his desk as if gravity was aiming for him only, today. “Hey mate, how are you doing?”

His friend stared at him, but sighed then. “I fucking hate _everything_.”

“I can relate to that” Harry sighed and gave Ron his sheet for the undercover mission. “We have to go to UO in twenty minutes. There’s an emergency undercover mission.”

**It’s a trap!**

Harry looked up and saw another shadow rushing along the wall. This was really weird. Why could he suddenly hear them and why did they try and help him? They had already helped him find Voldemort, but this? And could he trust them? For all he knew, shadows were dark, right?

For the next twenty minutes, no shadows appeared and Harry made his way to the UO, together with Ron. Shaking his head, he walked into a room and found himself once again next to Dean.

“You look distracted?” his friend asked and looked at the parchment Harry had brought, before heading to the door and requesting another personage.

Harry nodded. “I have a bad feeling about this mission. Ainsworth said he had found the leader of the Neo Death Eaters, but I somehow don’t really trust him. That’s stupid, isn’t it?”

Dean frowned, but started working on him. “I don’t know, Harry. Let me ask you something: When we were younger, you know… _then_ ” Harry could only assume that he meant the war. “Did you trust your feelings?”

“Always.”

He cringed slightly when he realized the impact of this word. However, Dean didn’t seem to realize.

“So why don’t you trust them now?”

Harry bit his lower lip, before relaxing again for Dean to work with his face. “Because that would mean that I couldn’t trust my boss. And who knows which other people of my daily life might be involved in this thing!?”

Dean nodded as if trying to figure out how to help him. “Good point. Let me ask something else: What do you think would happen if your boss actually _is_ a bad guy and you follow his every word, blindly?”

“I might die. And everyone who’s coming with me as well.”

 **It’s a trap, Harry Potter** , another shadowy voice said before it scurried away.

Harry rubbed his newly established huge forehead. “I have a feeling that I might run into a trap.” _No, actually the shadows are telling me that_ , Harry added, however, wisely chose not to say it out loud.

“Well, if you can’t prove it, just be careful. Tell your fellow Aurors what you feel and keep an eye out” Dean helpfully said, before finishing his look.

“It’s not that easy. My partner is Ron, he had to chose between his wife and daughter last week, and Draco, and he hates me to death right now” Harry sighed, while Dean brought the mirror.

He didn’t look very much different. His forehead was huge, the scar was now on his jaw and the eye color brown. Dean smiled. “Then keep an eye out for all three of you.”

Harry nodded and just wanted to get up, when Dean held him back. “Don’t trust Ainsworth, Harry. He asked me to do as little change as I can so you’re still easily recognized. You say you should trust your feelings, well my feelings told me not to listen to him. I hope you’re okay with that.”

“You could get fired over this!” Harry shook his head.

His friend shrugged his shoulders. “Then at least I helped you not to die.”

“Thank you.”

Even though Ron had changed his look, Harry had no problem identifying him. He was the only person surrounded by a red glow. He still looked miserable.

The accepted their character-sheets and read through it, though Harry was sure that he didn’t need it, since they still got Draco Malfoy with them. He should be able to bring them inside without any problem.

A shadow appeared but was gone before it could say something to him. Harry and Ron met Malfoy in the conference room, looking at schematics from the apparent Neo Death Eater hide out. Harry frowned slightly but decided not to question how the Ministry had gotten it.

They quickly made their way to the Auror Apparition Point and Harry saw Ainsworth peering out of his office, before vanishing from sight. Harry saw a lot of shadows following him and when he apparated, they seemed to have come with him.

“Let’s go” Malfoy said and pointed to a line of trees, where a secret door should be laying to a tunnel system.

Harry stayed behind, looking around for a second, before following them. Nothing seemed to be out of place. There was no bad feeling…

 **The tunnels are a trap** , a shadow whispered, while Draco quietly opened the door and walked inside. Ron followed suit and Harry stared at it.

 _How is it a trap?!_ he wanted to know, hoping that the shadows could read his mind as well.

**It’s a maze without an actual goal but a lot of death traps.**

It was too late. Draco and Ron were already inside. Harry bolted forward, trying to get hold of them, when he realized that there had been a decision after five steps. He looked both ways, but couldn’t figure out where they went.

Draco was systematic, right? Maybe he would start on the right. Harry walked down there, keeping his eyes and ears open for anything. He kept choosing the right pathway until he ended in a dead end and walked back one more to choose the left path.

Before long, Harry’s initially good plan was destroyed, when he suddenly stood in a huge hall. _I thought there was nothing down here_ , he thought and directed this to the shadows.

“Who are you?!” a man asked and took hold of his wand.

Harry was unable to speak for a few seconds. “I… My name is Eaten. Omar Eaten.” He paused and frowned then. “I’m sorry, could you maybe show me the way out? I’ve completely lost my way around here.”

The man grinned and nodded. “Of course, good Sir!” he said mockingly. “I have wanted a new sacrifice for our good Lord!”


	34. Chapter 34

Harry stood there frozen. Did he just now walk into a Neo Death Eater hide out? Hadn’t the shadows told him that there was nothing down there? Hadn’t they said that this was going to be a trap? A trap wasn't a hide out!

 _Um, Argui Dawjan?_ Harry asked and looked around. Death stepped out of the dark and next to him. _What do I do?_

None of them were shining red, so Harry couldn’t really concentrate his Death Magic on any of them. The immortal next to him frowned. “I honestly don’t know. This hide out must be relatively new. The shadows normally know everything.”

_They said it’s a trap._

Argui Dawjan nodded. “Then let’s assume that they’re still right. It’s definitely a trap.”

Harry put his hands in the air and let a woman take his wand. He had once again forgotten the Elder Wand and any of the other Deathly Hallow.

“Well then, Omar Eaten. What’s your real name?” the man who seemed to be the ringleader grinned. He didn’t look anything like the picture Harry had gotten from Ainsworth. This most certainly wasn’t Martin Lynn.

Pressing his lips to a thing line, Harry refused to answer. He felt Death Magic surrounding him and taking the anticipation and fear of what they were probably going to do to him if they knew about his actual name. It also calmed him down and he felt something of a pain removal spell around him – everything coming from the Death Magic surrounding him.

“No talking?” the man asked, clearly amused. “You are dumber than you look, Mr. Eaten. Do you know who we are?”

He rolled up his sleeve and Harry saw the Dark Mark, not healed properly. This man went to a Muggle tattoo parlor to get that thing tattooed. Harry would have almost laughed loudly, but decided not to try it.

Looking back at the Neo Death Eater’s face, Harry shrugged his shoulders. “Neo Death Eaters, I assume.”

“Oh, you assume correctly! However, we call ourselves the ‘Death Eaters’! There’s nothing ‘Neo’ about us.” The Ringleader turned to his… followers who were all laughing.

Harry rolled his eyes. “Well, neo comes from Greek, meaning ‘new’; so I would argue otherwise: There are a lot of ‘new’ things happening here.”

Apparently, the other man didn’t appreciate Harry talking like this, as he narrowed his eyes. Before he could say anything though, three other Neo Death Eaters appeared and almost walked into him. Two of them had Draco and Ron walking on front of them, also no wands in their hands.

“I’m so glad we’ve found you!” Ron said and smiled at him broadly. Even Draco seemed to have lost a little bit of his tension, though he didn’t say anything.

The man – the ringleader – walked closer and smirking. “Well, well, well” he walked towards Draco and shook his head. “Draco Malfoy. The sorry excuse for a man is here.”

“He is more a man than you are” Harry answered and narrowed his eyes at the Neo Death Eater. He vaguely saw Draco turn his head in surprise, Ron following suit, but kept staring the ringleader down. He probably thought he was real smooth and scary. And seeing another man talking back at him, must have really hurt his ego.

“What did you say?”

Harry smirked. “The truth. You’re probably just a woman in men’s clothing.”

Ginny would have probably had his head by now and the thought of that made him grin. In this man’s face. Harry didn’t really believe that women were lower than men, but this object of idiocy clearly did. So, there was nothing wrong with a little fun…

Apparently, Magic seemed to be not enough for this Neo Death Eater, as he physically hit Harry square in the face. He could hear both Draco and Ron scream towards the idiot man, however, somehow it hadn’t hurt a bit.

 _Strange_ , Harry thought.

Two men walked up and grabbed his arms, keeping them behind his back. “I think you’ve just made the biggest mistake of your life, Eaton!”

The Ringleader held out his wand, grinning at him and pointed it then towards Ron. _This is it…_ Before the man could even say his words, Harry punched one of the guys in his guts and freed himself from the other, charging over towards his best friend and keeping hold of him.

Time froze.

Carefully, as not to let go of Ron, Harry grabbed Ron’s wand from one of the Neo Death Eaters, accio’ing his own from one of the people and pointed it at the Ringleader.

“Expelliarmus.”

He continued disarming the dozen Neo Death Eaters during those twenty seconds and hid the wands in his large trouser pockets, in his shoes and his belt, before letting go of his best friends.

“AVADA KEDAVRA!” the Ringleader screamed, pointing his… hand at Ron.

Harry smirked, while everyone else looked puzzled at their boss, not really understanding why nothing happened. Even Draco and Ron frowned; however, the latter was no longer glowing red. Harry had once again saved him from dying.

The Neo Death Eaters seemed to be helpless without their wands and Harry, Ron and Draco had arrested them in no time and had even gotten a little time to look around, before the other Aurors arrived to lead the criminals away.

Once everyone was gone and Ron had left as well, Harry was just tidying up, when he turned around and was faced with Draco.

“How did you do that?” he asked, clearly suspicious of him.

Harry frowned and decided to play dumb. “Do what?”

Draco shook his head. “One second you’re here, everyone’s pointing their wands at you, the next second, everyone just has an empty hand. I know you had something to do with it!”

“Draco…” Harry sighed and smiled weakly. “I think you’re just trying to fit logic where it doesn’t belong. I have no idea how that happened. I also don’t understand why I was left with a wand and nobody else… But I do believe that it has something to do with the weird magic of this maze…”

The Slytherin didn’t seem to buy it completely… but up until some point. At least he decided not to question Harry about it anymore. When both of them had finally left the maze and Harry had sealed the opening for anybody else who might have wanted to join these Neo Death Eaters, they went their own way.

Harry felt Death next to him no sooner than he had crossed the street. “Hello, friend. How can I help you today?”

“You could stop using your power to save your friends.” Death sighed. “Their death is necessary.”

Shaking his head, Harry walked to the next park, looking for a way to quickly apparate home. “I don’t think so. You might believe that I need some of them to die, but I do not agree. As long as I have this power, I will keep them save.”

Death chuckled, even though he really didn’t seem to like it. “You honestly have a hero complex, and I know I’ve not been the only one to tell you so.”

“I can’t help it! My friends and family means everything to me! I’m not going to let them die if I can at least try and prevent it!”

Sighing again, Death shrugged his shoulders. “Well, as long as I am around, I will choose these people to die.”

Harry looked up. “Choose? What do you mean by choose?!” But Death was long gone.


	35. Chapter 35

Harry tiredly entered his office, thankful for another week off from any undercover missions and field work. Even though he had just had a three week break from any Neo Death Eater undercover work, the last mission was extremely weird. Ainsworth had told both him and Ron that they needed to work on some paperwork again. While for Harry, it was a welcomed break, his best mate just wasn’t fit enough to go out again. Yes, Harry had saved him from dying again and he wasn’t glowing red, however, going out into the field, he couldn’t always keep an eye out for him as well.

Surprisingly, Harry found himself wishing for some simpler times, when he first started Auror Training or being an Auror. They had only gotten investigations or reports to go after. Nothing with as much adrenaline as they’ve had the last few weeks.

A knock on the door made Harry look up into another red Glow of Death. Sighing, he waved the Slytherin into the room. “Draco, what can I do for you?”

“Paperwork” Draco said and smiled, an arm full of parchments. “These are for all the reports we did together and my team finally finished. The parchment for last Friday isn’t quite finished, they found some weird magic again and can’t trace it to anybody.” The Slytherin sighed and rolled his eyes.

Harry chuckled softly. “Yes, I know what you mean. Sometimes these things are just nerve-wracking.” He pointed to the window sill. “Put them there, I’ll go through them once I finish this report.”

Placing the parchments where Harry had told him to, Draco faced him and frowned slightly. He hesitated, before talking, wherein Harry placed his quill in the ink. _This must be important_ , he thought.

“Listen, Harry… I’m not sure what we’re doing… what I’m doing. Did you mean what you’ve said in the undercover mission? I mean, about me?”

Harry felt the corners of his mouth twitch up by such a tentative Draco Malfoy. “Draco, of course I meant it! You’re more man than any of these Neo Death Eaters” he rolled his eyes as if to prove the point. They both looked at each other for a few moments, until Harry cleared his throat. “And since you’re talking to me again… I’m really sorry for whatever I did that upset you on our date. Really, I didn’t mean to…”

“Maybe I overreacted.”

“Hey, Draco” Harry spoke up, when the Slytherin had turned around and was just about to walk out of his office. The blond wizard looked at him. “Do you think we can… you know. Go on another date? And possibly forget the one we’ve had?”

There was a hint of a smile on Draco’s lips, when he winked at Harry. He turned around and walked to the door. “See you around, Potter.”

“Sure thing, Malfoy.” Harry saw that as a definite yes.

Once the red glowing Slytherin had left his office, Harry glared at the parchments. Why would Draco _once again_ be glowing red?! It was clear that Death had chosen him to die _again_. Harry was not happy about this. Why wouldn’t he just let his friends stay alive?! “Death, you son of a bitch!”

“Language, Discipulus!”

Argui Dawjan appeared, sitting on Ron’s empty desk and grinning at him. “You know, I thought that…”

_Why would you go after Draco again?! I’ve already saved him, did I not?_

Death grinned. “Oh you did. But I don’t want you to save him. We’ve been talking about this, Harry Potter! If you want to move up another step towards being the Master of Death, you need to let people around you die.”

Harry rolled his eyes. _Great! Don’t you think it’s going to be obvious when everyone I care about is dead? Also, Death: If you touch my children, you’re dead._

“I already am Death, Harry Potter!”

“I don’t care. Touch my children and I will do everything in my power to have you destroyed” Harry narrowed his eyes and glared at the immortal being, not caring that he had just talked out loud. Some threats needed to be said out loud not inside one’s head.

Death laughed, but disappeared again, while Harry groaned. He shook his head and finished writing the report. He then went over to the window sill, looking through Draco’s reports and placing them into the right folders.

While he was almost finished, he stopped dead in his track and stared out of the magical window. Draco glowing red meant he could die… any second. He just had been lucky that he had always been around when some of his friends were supposed to die. How could he protect the Slytherin from something he couldn’t see?

Looking around, he saw that nobody was in his office and cleared his throat. He had an idea, but he didn’t know how it worked…

“Hey, shadows?”

Nothing seemed to happen for a while, until he saw a black thick snake-like creature running along the walls. It stopped and slithered towards him. **You know about us?**

“I guess, I do” Harry answered, puzzled. “But I don’t know how you work… Why are you on Death’s side?”

From the dark corner, Harry could hear giggling, which weirdly enough didn’t make him uncomfortable. The shadow to his feet smiled, though the light made a grimace out of it.

 **Well, death is usually accompanied by darkness and fear. Light chases us away – except for our non-feeling parts.** The shadow seemed to point its tail towards Harry’s own shadow.

“So this isn’t the same?” Harry asked, slightly confused.

Once again, the shadows giggled in the dark corner next to Ron’s desk. **Not at all** , the shadow explained. **You know, since we are shadows, we know everything. The night is our time and we have a collective memory. So what I know, my friends know.**

Harry smiled. “That is very interesting!” He nodded. Suddenly, a strong urge to know this shadow’s name came up and he frowned. Did shadows even _have_ names? “Do you have a name?”

 **I’m Zil. I’m the communicator between Death and my friends. If you need my help, you can call my name and I will be there. If you just want some information, you can ask my shadow friends. They will try and help you through everything** , Zil seemed to smile once more.

“Thank you, Zil. Could you maybe help me with one thing?” he asked, rather dumbly.

Zil slithered around again, until he seemed to be on Harry’s desk. **Of course, Bonum.**

Harry frowned, but decided to ask for the favor first before asking about this ‘Bonum’. “I would like to keep an eye on my friend, Draco Malfoy. He had the red Glow of Death, but I want him not to die in the next few weeks. Could you maybe alert me if anything is happening?”

**That we can do!**

Harry saw a few shadows rushing away through the door and he smiled weakly. He already felt better. “Why did you call me Bonum?”

Zil stopped his movement for a few seconds, before slowly turning to him. **If you can communicate with us, you are a very good user of Death Magic and all its powers. Why would you be surprised by that?**

“Well, Death calls me Discipulus…”

 **How very weird** , Zil was silent for another few seconds. **Well, you seem to be better than Death anticipates. If you can communicate with us, it means that you are most certainly no Discipulus anymore. However, Death might be struggling with accepting your path.**

Harry frowned. “How? Or rather why?”

Zil slithered to his friends again, though not hiding in the shadows completely. **You weren’t the only one to have been a learner. There have been five since the beginning of the last two centuries. All of them failed as Discipulus. One reached the Interposito-stage, but struggled to get further and Death had to stop their training. We think that maybe he has figured you worthy and even likes you.**

“He likes me? He’s Death!”

 **He might not want to lose you like he has with the others.** Zil bowed and was gone into the shadows.

Harry shook his head, while he headed back to his reports, looking through Draco’s parchments again. He couldn’t really believe that Death liked him, however Zil seemed to be honest and he didn’t talk bullshit… Maybe this immortal being actually had somewhat of a weak spot for him. It was crazy to think about.


	36. Chapter 36

Ron hadn’t shown up the entire day. Not that Harry had minded, he had more time going over the different reports, finishing those with Draco’s parchments missing and hand them over to Ainsworth. All in all, after the whole day, he had finished twenty two folders – which honestly did nothing to his stack of folders, but was still impressive.

He decided to go and visit Hermione and Ron. Hermione had been released from St. Mungo’s again, this morning. Maybe this was the reason why Ron hadn’t come into work.

He felt the shadows surround him, as he walked through a dark alley and smiled at the nothingness. Knowing that the shadows were there – and also protecting or watching over Draco – helped him immensely.

The windows were ablaze with light and Harry walked closer, knocking on the door. Ron opened it and smiled at him. “Hey Harry.”

“Hi Ron! I’ve missed you today, where were you?” Harry smiled and they hugged.

His best mate smiled sheepishly. “I didn’t feel like going to work, today. It’s only paperwork, right?”

This made Harry laugh and he shook his head. “Ron, come on! You can’t leave me to drown alone in paperwork! I need to write at least another fifty reports tomorrow, I have no idea how I will be able to do that in one day!”

Behind Ron, Hermione walked towards them and Harry smiled at her, trying his hardest to ignore the huge problem: She was glowing red. _Goddamn it, Death! Stop attacking my friends!_

“Hi ‘Mione! How are you doing?” He hugged her as well.

“Physically, good. Mentally… not so well. It feels like a whirlwind in there” she sighed.

Harry nodded. “I’m sorry, Hermione.”

“I know, dear. I know.”

While Ron and Harry went into the kitchen to grab everything they needed for a calm evening, Hermione sat down on the couch in their small living room. They put a kettle on and Ron was rummaging through the fridge, trying to find some cheese. The cold wind blew through the slightly open window and brought icy air inside. Harry quickly closed it and turned back to Ron, who by now seemed to have found the cheese he had been looking for.

“So, what happened in the Ministry?”

Harry grinned. “Not much, really. Draco finally brought all the reports of the crime scenes, so I only had to polish about twenty reports. Well, I brought them to Ainsworth. And that is literally everything that happened today.”

Ron grinned and shook his head. “I’ll be there tomorrow, I promise. I just wanted to make sure that ‘Mione’s doing fine, you know and…”

Placing a hand on Ron’s shoulder, Harry smiled. “I get it, Ron. It’s okay, honestly.”

“You are an amazing best friend, Harry!”

Harry’s Death sense was suddenly triggered and he stood straight. Something wasn’t good. He turned to look into the living room – nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. When he turned back to his best friend, he was glowing red as well.

He heard soft footsteps on the ceiling – the first floor. Nobody should be home… or at least upstairs. “Ron, someone’s upstairs” he whispered. Ron seemed to want to joke about it, though his Auror training kicked in quickly.

He raced to Hermione and got her to her feet. Harry heard him whispering: “Go to my mother’s through the floo, now love! We have company. I don’t want you hurt.”

An unidentifiable package was dropped into the floo and it exploded with green powder everywhere. Harry had his wand out and quickly protected both Ron and Hermione the very last second.

He quickly cast a Patronus, calling some Aurors to Ron’s home, telling them that they were under attack. His wand was then thrown from his hand by some spell and he turned to where the caster was probably standing.

The kitchen window was broken and glass shattered everywhere. Harry turned away and felt a shard dig into his temple. He put his hand up to his cheek and felt his adrenalin take over. A man tried to get inside and Harry’s Auror ability made him react without thinking. He grabbed the kettle and threw the boiling hot water into his face, before knocking him out with the actual kettle. A spell from another wizard made it explode and Harry felt a piece of it sticking in his arm. A look over to his best friends made it clear, that they also had a few problems.

Harry grabbed a kitchen knife, throwing it right in front of Hermione’s feet. It landed with the blade stabbing into the ground. She looked up rather surprised, but grabbed it not a second later, attacking an intruder with it. He apparently hadn’t thought that they would have used anything else but wands, since he frowned at what Hermione was doing, until it was too late.

Upstairs, Harry heard heavy footsteps, before a few loud explosions ripped through the house and Harry felt himself tumbling to the ground. He looked surprised to find his wand there, though distracted the one intruder with a grater, thrown into his direction. At the same time, the ceiling apparently gave away from the now fifth explosion and two more intruders fell to the ground. One seemingly fell badly and screamed in pain when he landed on his foot, the other saw a flying object towards his hand and tried to grab the grater but only managed to get a piece of his hand grated.

Harry cast two Expelliarmus and punched them both out of conscious. In the living room, Hermione had switched to her wand now as well and had quickly disarmed the new three intruders, while Ron had used some Ministry level spells that had left everyone of the bad guys in… bad shape. At least until they were in Ministry holding cells.

“Everyone okay?” Harry asked and looked at his friends. They were luckily not glowing red anymore. So he had saved them one more time. However, this hadn’t felt like saving them, since he had also fought the people inside the kitchen himself.

Ron nodded, though he was panting heavily. “Yes! Hermione, how are you?”

“Good. I’m fine.” She looked at the kitchen knife, before grinning at Harry. “You are such a Muggle, Harry! Using a kettle, a kitchen knife” she even chuckled. “I haven’t been entertained better in years!”

Harry walked out of the kitchen and shook his head. He felt the shard of broken glass in his temple, but surprisingly no pain. “You are crazy, Hermione Weasley!”

His best friend laughed. “I’m just glad nobody was hurt badly. And you know what… I think I needed this. To know that I’m still not someone you want to mess with.”

“We know, love, we know!” Ron pointed at the man to her feet, who seemed to have taken more jinxes than he could handle.

Harry burst out laughing and shook his head. “Nobody should mess with the three of us!”

Ron nodded. “Hear, hear!”

In that instance, five Aurors appeared. Harry rolled up a sleeve and saw the fake Dark Mark again. Neo Death Eaters… How did they find out where Ron lived?!

From the looks of it, Hermione and Ron had the same thought. The Aurors questioned all of them, before starting to clean up. While a Healer took a look at Harry’s wounds and Ron’s minor injuries, Harry told his friends that they should come and stay with him.

When he had joined the Aurors and moved back into Grimmauld Place 12, they had offered to do the wards for him. However, with the order of the Phoenix having lived there and all of these wards still in place, Harry had happily denied. He had also placed his own set of wards into the place and kept most of the original wards in use. Never was he more thankful than now that he had studied Wards and Wizarding Security high up in Scotland for five years, before Ron had convinced him to join the Aurors with him. Otherwise, something might have happened to his home as well…

Hermione and Ron packed everything they needed, while the Aurors took away the Neo Death Eaters and called someone from Maintenance to have a look at the broken floo. Apparently, their home should then be ready again in a few weeks.


	37. Chapter 37

“It feels as if we’re on the run again” Hermione grinned, as she entered the kitchen two days later, where Harry sat with the morning papers, drinking his coffee.

He placed the Prophet down and chuckled. “Not entirely. We’re not that stressed anymore and we can trust the Ministry – to some degree.”

His friend grabbed a cup of coffee as well and sat down on the opposite side of him. “Something’s happening in there isn’t it? Ron won’t tell me.”

Harry sighed. “Yes. I’m not sure what it is exactly. A few weeks ago, we found a mole in the Ministry.” He narrowed his eyes in thought. “And I’m somehow sure that Ainsworth has something to do with all of it. But I don’t really want to believe it.”

Hermione nodded. “He’s your boss. Of course you don’t want to think that he’s doing something bad. Did you tell Ron?”

“Not yet. I really don’t want to tell too many people in case I’m wrong.”

The Gryffindor grinned and she shrugged her shoulders. “Have you been wrong often as of lately?”

Chuckling, Harry winked at her. “Rarely.” He took a sip of his coffee and sighed again. “But I don’t want to tell everyone. Just think, what if Garrick wasn’t the only mole? And I’m telling too many people? I might accidentally tell a friend of Ainsworth’s and maybe never be seen again…”

“Who will never be seen again?” Ron asked as he entered the kitchen and frowned.

“Me” Harry answered grinningly. “If I tell you that I might have enjoyed working together with Draco.”

He had decided to quickly change the subject and found Hermione’s understanding eyes. Ron rolled his eyes at that and laughed. “I figured, since you’ve been calling him ‘Draco’ and not ‘Malfoy’ anymore.”

Harry grinned. “I honestly don’t even remember when I changed his name… It’s all in a blur, really.”

Ron grabbed some coffee as well and sat down between his wife and Harry. For a short amount of time, they relished in the feeling of their unbeatable trio again. The calm would definitely be almost over, since Christmas was just around the corner and Harry’s five children, along with Ron and Hermione’s three would be coming over. They hadn’t decided what they wanted to do, however, Hermione had secretly told Harry that she felt much more secure in his home.

Today, Ron actually managed to get to work on time. After Hermione had promised to stay in and Harry had checked his wards in front of Ron, explaining him how everything worked and also closed his floo – just in case.

However, he had to go to a meeting with Ainsworth and some higher Officials of the Ministry about the break-in. He was still around when Draco showed up at their office, though. Harry bit down a sigh, but started yelling at Death again – in his head. Why was Draco glowing red!?

“Hey, Harry! I heard you were attacked last night?!” Draco walked into the office, ignoring Ron who stood there as if someone had just walked in front of him in the supermarket.

Harry smiled. “Hi Draco. Yeah, we were attacked. Luckily no one got hurt.”

Ron snorted. “You had a piece of glass and a piece of metal sticking in your body. I think that meant you did get hurt!”

Draco widened his eyes and shook his head, while Harry chuckled. “Oh come on, Ron. That wasn’t that bad.” He then turned back to Draco. “Hermione thinks I’m fighting like a Muggle.”

“You… What?” Draco frowned. “How do Muggles fight? What did you do?”

“I threw boiling water into one guy’s face and put it out with the kettle itself and I threw a grater towards another one…”

Draco frowned. “A… a grater? What the hell is that for?”

This comment made Harry laugh and he rolled his eyes. “Draco, how do you think, Muggles rasp potatoes or carrots? Licking them into pieces?”

“That is most certainly not what I was thinking and now I’m stuck with this horrendous image” Draco shook his head and both Ron and Harry started laughing.

Sadly, Ron had to leave quickly and Harry nodded at Draco who just seemed to be happy that he was okay. And so, Harry worked on some of the reports, when he noticed one of Draco’s crime scene investigations having some magical mistakes. The details didn’t match the actual thing that Harry had witnessed.

Sighing, Harry got up and marched through the Department, until he ended up in a dead end that lead into either Draco’s office or the open space office and laboratories for the Passive Aurors. He knocked at Draco’s door, though noticing a lot of Passive Aurors glowing red. He rolled his eyes exactly when Draco opened the door.

“So… why are you rolling your eyes?” Draco asked confused.

Harry smiled “I just remembered the letter my son wrote. I just feel as if Nate should have been in Slytherin. Ravenclaw is too trusting to him…”

Draco laughed and nodded. He stepped back and Harry entered his very clean office. In here, you could actually see the wood of the table and the chest of drawers. Harry briefly wondered whether or not his furniture looked the same under all these parchments, but he decided not to wonder.

“I have a somewhat wrong crime scene investigation.” He showed Draco the folder and then the reports.

The Slytherin quickly checked it and nodded. “That’s weird. Normally we don’t make mistakes… I’ll look it over myself. Thanks for the note.”

Harry nodded and smiled at him, before he wanted to go back to his office. However, Draco held him back on his elbow. “Listen, about that… date. How about we go for something to drink later?”

Smiling slightly, Harry nodded. “Of course. I would love to.”

He headed back to his own office, when he passed Ainsworth’s office and looked through the small glass opening next to the door, where you couldn’t clearly see who was inside, but you could make out whether or not someone was there. However, nobody was in there, so maybe Ron had taken them to show his house.

Once again, Harry sat down at his desk, completing another report and placing it on the stack of folders to give to Ainsworth. Suddenly, a shadow appeared and looked at Harry. **Draco Malfoy will die shortly!**

He shot up and turned to the shadow. “Where is he?”

**Auror Training Department.**

Harry had just wanted to leave the office, when Zil appeared at the door. **You can travel with us.**

“Zil, I don’t have time to learn something new! I need to go now!” Harry just wanted to go, when the shadows seemed to rush him and he was in the dark. He wanted to say something, but suddenly found himself in the Auror Training Department. And not just anywhere, but exactly where Draco was.

 _Thanks!_ , he thought, hoping that the shadows would get this as much as Death could read his thoughts.

Draco stood where Harry had once accidentally destroyed the ceiling’s magic. Harry felt his death approaching, when the ceiling started to crumble slightly. Looking up, Harry noticed how there was a huge part of the ceiling that was quite definitely about o fall right on top of him.

He dashed forward the second he felt the ceiling getting loose. “Watch out!” he screamed and when Draco turned around, looking at him surprised and then looking up, he widened his eyes.

Harry jumped, grabbed Draco and pulled him with him to the ground, several inches away from where Draco would have died, while stones crushed the ground beneath them. Both men lied on the floor, trying to comprehend what just had happened. Well Harry didn’t need to figure that out, but his mind was racing as to why something like that would be happening. How did the ceiling just fall down?!

“Merlin’s balls, Potter!” Draco finally said and sat up, visibly trembling. “How did you know I was here?! You just saved my life!”

Sitting up as well, Harry shook his head. He was glad to notice him not glowing red anymore. His death had been turned around. “I don’t know, Draco. I suddenly had a bad feeling and I decided to go look for you.”

“Because of a bad feeling?” Draco seemed unconvinced.

Harry nodded and rubbed his forehead. “Yes. I always trust my feelings. And a few minutes ago I had a really, really bad feeling. It was either you or Ron and Ron’s not here, so I went looking for you.”

The Slytherin exhaled. “Well, thank Merlin for your feelings!” He got to his feet, still a little wobbly, and turned around. “Stay here, watch for any other things to fall, I’ll get Maintenance. You can’t have ceiling falling in the Auror Training Department!”

 _In any department_ , Harry thought, but nodded. However, Draco probably hadn’t seen it, as he had left the room without looking back.

Harry was fuming. He looked around and narrowed his eyes. “Death! Show yourself! Argui Dawjan!” He hadn’t seen this immortal for quite some time and they needed to talk about this. He had decided to kill his two best friends – made their children orphans –, he wanted to kill Draco and who knew what else?!

Death appeared sitting on top of the broken down ceiling. “Afternoon, Harry Potter.”

“Long time no see, Death.”

Argui Dawjan chuckled. “Yes, well. Usually, people don’t see me. And it’s nice to talk to you again as well.”

Harry shook his head. “I don’t just want to talk to you, Argui Dawjan, I want to know why you keep trying to kill people that I like?!”

“You like Draco Malfoy?”

Death seemed genuinely surprised. Harry rolled his eyes. “Yes, I do! And I know you know this. Stop playing dumb. Why do you do this?!”

Argui Dawjan sighed. “I’ve been telling you this already: Friends and family makes one weak. I want you to be strong, so they need to go.”

“No.” Harry shook his head. “They make me stronger. Without my friends and family I am nothing. If you kill them, Death, I will stop working with you. I don’t care how far I’ve come or what I can and can’t do: if you hurt my family and friends, I’m out.”

This seemed to genuinely amuse the immortal being. “You want to be _out_? You can’t abandon this process, Harry Potter. You are going to become the Master of Death and take over…”

“I don’t want to. And believe me, Death: Where there’s a will, there’s a way. I’ll find my way out of this life, which I – by the way – never agreed to! You just came up to me, telling me that I’m the Master of Death!”

“You are.”

Harry snorted. “I don’t care.”

A different voice sounded from the door. “Harry?”


	38. Chapter 38

Both Death and Harry stopped their discussion and turned to the door, where Draco stood, frowning at him. Death started to laugh loudly and shook his head. “Have fun with this one. We’ll continue this discussion tonight.”

_Can’t wait._

Death disappeared and Harry turned to the Slytherin who carefully closed the door again, walking towards him. “I met Keene in my way to Maintenance. He’s going to grab a few things and then come over.”

Harry looked at the broken ceiling in the middle of the room, surprised that Draco told him that without questioning why he would be talking to thin air. However, he was sure that the questions would be coming rather quickly. In fact, he had been right. Once he stood closer, Draco narrowed his eyes.

“Why are you arguing with someone invisible?” he asked. Harry opened his mouth to give him some kind of explanation, when Draco shook his head. “No, don’t say something to pretend that nothing just happened. I’ve heard it all… You’re the Master of Death?”

There was no way around it… At least nothing Harry could think of right now. “I am…”

Draco shook his head. “You are being reckless once again, Potter! Have you never heard of the Touch of Death?”

Harry frowned and slowly shook his head. Draco groaned, but couldn’t say anything else, since Keene and two other workers from Maintenance just entered the room. He did, however, shoot Harry a look that stated they needed to talk about this as soon as possible.

How did Draco not even question that Harry maybe was crazy? He was arguing with thin air, he claimed to be Master of Death, which surely only existed in theory books… And Draco just told him he was being reckless?! And what was the Touch of Death?!

The young man with curly brown hair seemed to be Keene and he whistled through his teeth when he saw the ceiling. “This is crazy! I’ve never seen something like this, in my life!”

 _Well, you are not that old_ , Harry thought but kept it to himself, not wanting to maybe insult someone who just came to help.

Keene told Draco how long they probably needed to work on this and since both Aurors were just standing there, he filled out a report card and told them to bring it to the Minister. They would be working on this for a while and nobody needed to just stay around and watch them doing it. They did know what they were doing.

Harry wasn’t looking forward to the elevator ride with Malfoy. Almost nobody used the elevator to the Minister, so they had a little time to talk. His suspicions had been right, when as soon as the door closed, Draco turned to him.

“So, you’ve been arguing with Death, huh?”

Harry bit his lower lip, but nodded shortly. “He wants to kill my friends and family. I’m not standing for it.”

Draco sighed. “He’s a powerful immortal being, Harry!”

 _I think he’s just a little sad._ Harry heard a voice, but couldn’t put it to anything. It didn’t sound like a shadow, but more like a young woman. However, there was nobody here…

Harry shook his head. “I don’t care!” He narrowed his eyes and stared at the floor. “I will not accept him trying to murder everyone close to me just so I can ‘learn a lesson’.”

“You have no idea what you’re doing, do you?”

“I…” Harry frowned again. “I have some idea. But what do you mean? And what is the Touch of Death?”

Draco looked at him carefully, before he opened his mouth, when a ‘ding’ sounded and the elevator stopped, opening its door to find two Aurors getting in. Harry and Draco stepped back, quietly staring at the floor.

Suddenly, Harry heard the voice again. _Yes, of course! This is important, my dear._

Could he suddenly be able to hear thoughts? But who would be having thoughts in the voice of a woman? The elevator stopped again, the two Aurors left and Draco turned to Harry.

“Touch of Death is when Death saves a person. You can’t take away death. It’s still in the air” Draco explained. “Actually, the first person you touch, when you’re saved by Death, will then get the death-thing or whatever.”

“The Glow of Death?”

Draco raised his eyebrows and nodded then. “Yes. Who did you save first?”

Harry frowned. “I built a wall of magic for some car not to drive into a street of pedestrians.” But nobody else had been glowing red afterwards. They had all been fine…

The Slytherin shook his head. “No, I don’t mean that. It has to be a personal touch. Skin to skin while saving them. Or exposing them directly to your magic, I think that would work as well.”

“Skin to clothes doesn’t work?” Harry asked.

The Slytherin shrugged. “I don’t know honestly. Maybe if you ask your friend, Death, about it…”

The elevator stopped and Harry and Draco left it to walk to Kingsley’s office. When they entered, he looked up and smiled. Harry was happy to notice that he wasn’t surrounded by the red Glow of Death.

“My favorite two Aurors! To what do I owe this pleasure?” he smirked slightly.

Harry motioned towards the paper in Draco’s hands. “The ceiling in the Auror Training Department collapsed. Well, the training Area.”

Kingsley widened his eyes and nodded impressed. “Okay. It is an old building, but I thought with magic, we did strengthen it. Well, I will be looking into it in the next few days. How are you two doing?”

Draco told him something about the Passive Aurors, while Harry wondered whether or not he could trust him. Should he be telling him about his suspicions of Ainsworth being a mole? Or at least untrustworthy?

He had been – at the same time – thinking about which person he had touched or somehow saved and realized something. He inhaled loudly and he felt his eyes grow big. He then noticed that he was in Kingsley’s office and faked a smile.

“Everything okay, Harry?” the Minister asked.

Harry nodded. “Sorry, I’ve just had a breakthrough…”

The Minister laughed and sent them on their way. Outside of his office, while they waited for the elevator to arrive again, Draco turned to him.

“You just remembered who the first person was you saved?”

Harry confirmed it. “It was Ron.”

Draco narrowed his eyes. “Well, shit.” He was quiet for some time, until it seemed that he couldn’t keep it in him. “He had the Touch of Death on his hands. And the first person he touched then died. Did someone in his surroundings die that you know of?”

 _No. No, it couldn’t be. That wasn’t the correct answer. He wasn’t responsible for it. He couldn’t have done anything…._ Harry closed his eyes and shook his head.

“His baby… But he couldn’t have touched it.”

The Slytherin sighed, but nodded. “He must have touched his wife. Pregnant women exposed to Death Magic will lose their children, since they aren’t that strong. Sometimes, the children can survive, but usually the mother then dies.”

Harry shook his head and leaned at the wall. “So it is my mistake that the baby died…” he crouched down, which made Draco pull him back to his feet.

“You didn’t know, Harry! I think it’s Death’s mistake, if he didn’t tell you! That’s why Death rarely saves someone, because it can have a ripple effect.”

“I never wanted that! I just… I just wanted to save my friends!” he felt tears running down his cheeks, but Draco quickly brushed them out of his face.

The elevator stopped and Draco pulled him to his own office, which was closer and they wouldn’t be at risk to meet that many people. Once there, Harry sat down on the chair on the opposite side of Draco’s boss-chair. The Slytherin crouched down in front of him, carefully wiping his tears away.

“How did you even know about this?” Harry asked with a husky voice. He quickly cleaned his face and cleared his throat.

Draco stayed this close and smiled then. “The Dark Lord had made it his goal to become the Master of Death. He had a lot of books which I sometimes took and read when nobody was looking. I still have them, if you’d like them.”

Harry thankfully nodded. Maybe these books could help him somehow…


	39. Chapter 39

When Harry made it home on Friday, very late, there were already ten books waiting for him, along with a papercrane, which was floating around the ceiling. To Harry’s horror, Hermione sat in the kitchen, reading through one of the books. Harry quickly caught the papercrane, hoping she hadn’t read it.

“Oh, you’re here!” Hermione looked up and smiled. “Someone brought them over, but I don’t understand what they’re here for…”

Harry smiled weakly. “I’m trying to find some answers. Draco told me that he had some books I could borrow and I decided to that.”

Hermione frowned. “Some of those titles are just plain weird…” She grabbed a red book and showed it to Harry. “’King of Deaths’ – how many deaths can you have, honestly?” she rolled her eyes, but went for another one. “Look at this one: ‘Of Blood and Death’, I mean… why?”

He wanted to say something, pretend to do something, when she showed him the last one. “And come on! ‘Suicide Magic’? Harry, do you want to tell me something?”

“What? No. That… It’s not what I’m researching, ‘Mione.” He had to tell her. There was no way around it. However, he was not going to tell her about him being responsible for her baby’s death. He was sure that she wouldn’t be okay with that.

And so, he cleared his throat, hopping that Death wouldn’t appear and tell him to stop, however, this immortal being seemed to have other things to do at the moment. “Listen, Hermione… Did Ron ever tell you that he once almost died on a raid we did?”

Hermione shook her head, which Harry kind of understood. He also hadn’t told Ginny everything that almost happened. What use was there in that? Harry right now told her everything. About Argui Dawjan, about him being Master of Death, everything he had learnt so far and about Draco having more knowledge that he didn’t have and the books he had promised him.

When he finished, he wasn’t sure whether or not Hermione would believe him, since she sat at the table, silently staring at the table where the book ‘Raven of the End’ lay opened slightly.

“So… You’ve been carrying this around for a few weeks now?” she asked.

Harry nodded hesitantly. He watched her closely, hoping that she wouldn’t say something bad or say that she couldn’t be friends with… basically an immortal. However, she got up and hugged him tightly. Harry was so surprised that his brain seemed to short-circuit.

“You aren’t mad?” he asked carefully.

His friend shook her head. “No! You are a poor soul, Harry! I’m glad you’ve told me!” She looked at the books and then back at him. “So, now you’re researching death?”

“Almost” Harry answered. “Death apparently doesn’t like teaching me some things and I’ve decided to take matters into my own hands.”

Smiling, Hermione once again looked over the books. “Malfoy knows, doesn’t he?”

This time, Harry’s nodding was rather sheepishly. “He found me arguing with Death and since he couldn’t see Death, he just saw me discussion shit with air… I had to explain to him that I wasn’t stupid or crazy.”

She hugged him once more and disappeared upstairs. Harry sighed, but finally got around to open the papercrane Draco had written and that was accompanying the books.

> Dear Harry
> 
> Here are the books we’ve talked about. I do have more, but they don’t have anything really useful in them. The books are mostly theory, except for _Raven of the End_ and _Sword of the Assassin_ , however, these two I’ve included since they use a lot of techniques explained in the other books. Maybe you’ll find them interesting as well.
> 
> As for the other books: _King of Deaths_ , _Of Blood and Death_ and _Scary Deaths in History_ are more open in their topics. They discuss the possibilities of immortality, which I think is interesting, but these titles are just very bad!
> 
> The two books _Suicide Magic_ and _Coven of War_ seem to be the ones to start with, honestly. Suicide Magic is the magic people think Death is using to lure victims in. And then, there have been rumors that Death has a coven of witches and wizards, devoting every ounce of their magical power to this immortal being.

Harry stopped reading and frowned. Maybe the unknowing wizards and witches had taken Death Magic and decided to name it Suicide Magic. Harry didn’t like that name, since it did sound as if he would take their lives that way. Death Magic had a rather round tone and it seemed somehow softer…

As for the coven… Did it still exist? Did they ever exist? “Hey shadows? Hey Zil?” he needed to ask someone.

A shadow snake slithered into the kitchen and seemed to rest on one of the books. **How can we help you, Master?**

“I’m just interested in some information… I’ve just gotten a book about the Coven of War. Did that ever exist?” Harry asked.

**It did. However, Tom Riddle had tracked all of them down and made them either die or become a Death Eater. There is nobody left of the original Coven of War.**

Harry nodded thoughtfully. “Thank you…”

The snake interrupted him suddenly. **Would you like to start a new Coven of War, Bonum?**

“I can just start a coven?” Harry frowned. He wasn’t sure if – being Death and all – starting a coven as Harry Potter, Auror, was the best idea.

**We can go around and ask the offspring of the original Coven of War members.**

Harry stood there puzzled. There were a few questions on his mind. “You can talk to them? And won’t they have other things to do than join a Coven?”

The snake smiled and Harry could see a grimace in the shadow. **Their parents and grandparents had been in the coven. All of them have found some kind of evidence telling them that. Since they found this information, some have started to privately reconstruct some old Coven sites.**

Smiling, Harry nodded. “Not the best idea for a meeting… but I like the idea. I think it would be nice to have a Coven of War!” Harry grinned. “One last question: What exactly do they do for me or give me?”

**Their actions strengthen your Death Sense as well as your Death Magic. In turn, you give them the opportunity to keep their families save until they die and maybe another heir of the family joins. You, basically, don’t kill them because you want to, but because they die of natural causes **, Zil explained.****

“Interesting. And definitely worth keeping, I think. Zil, I know you’re a shadow, but what do you think?”

**We could re-start the Coven of War. You are an immortal now, Bonum. They and their families are somewhat friends of yours.**

Harry nodded and told the shadows to ask the people from the former Coven of War to join it once again, since another Master of Death was now here. Zil agreed and was gone in a second.

Realizing that he never finished the letter, Harry grabbed it again and started reading the last two paragraphs.

> _A Highlander’s Terror_ and _Cameron’s Asylum_ are about the different options that Suicide Magic can have. The Highlander one is about the effect this kind of magic has on small villages, where suddenly all but ten people die and they want to find out what happened. I don’t think anybody could so far, so they wrote a book with all the theories. And _Cameron’s Asylum_ is quite a heavy read. It’s about a man who thinks that with Suicide Magic, you can heal the crazy people. And he somehow manages to do that, but they are different people. This book explains how it happened and what probably could have gone wrong.
> 
> And finally, I’ve also included _Shadows of England_ , for honestly no apparent reason. They wrote a little about death and maybe it helps you as well.
> 
> Thank you for trusting me, Harry. I hope I can somehow help you with this. If you need any more books, I’m sure I’ll find some somewhere, though they are mostly hidden around the Manor. I think it would maybe be a better idea if you’d write my mother directly.
> 
> See you around,
> 
> Draco


	40. Chapter 40

Argui Dawjan was back in Harry’s life, ready to show him how to make anyone a living Santa Claus. Harry thought that seeing it that way was much better than Death showing him how to select people to have a red Glow of Death.

Harry hadn’t told him about everything he had learned from the three books he had sped through in weekends (these books being _Suicide Magic_ , _King of Deaths_ and _A Highlander’s Terror_ ) and he also hadn’t told him what the shadows had said.

Death could read his mind, so if he really would have wanted to know, he could have just looked in there. However, right now they were sitting in a pub – Harry making a rather sad impression on a Saturday night, since he was (for what everyone else saw) sitting at a table alone, drinking beer. Death had just explained that to find someone ‘worthy’ to die, he had to concentrate a little more to look into the lives of the people. He couldn’t stop time with non-red-glowing people, but if he just sat there quietly, he could – just the same as with the red glowing type – see their lives.

Well, Harry had tried, but he hadn’t really gotten the hang of it, when suddenly the silvery glowing man from Spain sat down on the opposite side of him.

“Thank goodness I’ve found you again!” he said while taking his place. Harry frowned at him and narrowed his eyes. He didn’t really like the manner of this immortal human being. And that was saying something, since especially Draco would say that he also didn’t have any manners. In his childhood, as well as in their years working for the Ministry.

Harry kept silent and tried to follow Death’s explanation again to look into an older woman’s life. She was sitting at the table, reading a magazine and drinking tea, opposite of her sat an older man, probably her husband.

He didn’t get far, when the man spoke again. “You know, it’s not really polite to say nothing.”

“Well, it’s also not polite to just sit down” Harry quickly answered and he looked at the man again, trying to make himself look bored. “And by the way, you ruined my date at the restaurant. I’m not just going to be nice to you just because you want me to.” Something about this man made Harry slightly angry.

The immortal just laughed and shrugged his shoulders. “I just wanted to introduce me: I’m Ka…”

“Listen, I don’t care about your name. If I wanted to know it, I would have asked.” Harry was incredibly impatient today and he did realize that he wasn’t really polite. However, the only thing he wanted to do right now, was getting to see some piece of someone’s life and deciding that this person should die or not. Well, the last one wasn’t really what he wanted…

The man with silvery hair shrugged his shoulders. “You know, in my younger years, Death would always come up to me and ask me for my help. I’m really glad to finally have another person who would…”

Harry cleared his throat and glared at the immortal, all while Death sitting on the chair next to the man was laughing loudly. “Okay, I have _other_ things to do than listen to you, you know? Why would you even come here? Just go back to Spain or something.”

“But I wanted to get to know you and since I know you’re into men, why don’t we go out for a date?”

Gobsmacked, Harry sat at the table, beer in hand and stared at the immortal. Even Death shook his head. “I’m sorry?”

The other man smiled. “I just said that since…”

“I know what you’ve said” Harry interrupted him again. “But it’s not going to happen. I have other interests. And you’re not even being rational. Just because you interrupted a date doesn’t mean I’m looking for a new relationship!” Harry frowned and was hoping that by glaring at him, he would be leaving. Even if Draco and he hadn’t had any time to repeat the date, didn’t mean that he was going to go on a date with this crazy man.

Suddenly, he felt himself leave his body, all his cells seemed to tingle and he suddenly found himself in the live of this immortal. Harry stepped back and looked around, he found himself probably in medieval England. So this man apparently did come from the UK.

There was a knight, walking around, taking money and things to eat. Someone was begging him not to take it, since it was the last thing they had. The knight took off his helmet and Harry found a child-like man. He looked like twelve years old – at the most. “Thee shouldst has’t did plan bett’r” he answered and took the last food reserve of this family. Harry shook his head disapprovingly.

The scene changed and Harry found him in an age, closer to his age now. He was sitting in a pub, drinking something when a poor family walked in, asking for a place to sleep. Harry could actually read his mind now. ‘Pathetic. I hope they’re not going to stay here. If they are, I might have to look for another place to stay.’

Again, the scene changed, while Harry narrowed his eyes. They were in some kind of underground temple. This man had brought his child and Harry recognized immediately what was going to happen. He was going to offer this child to become immortal. Not willing to see this, he closed his eyes, but the sound was still far too much to handle.

It quickly changed and when Harry opened his eyes again, England was now in the Victorian era. He could see this man walking through the streets, a knife in his hands, following what could only be described to be a prostitute. Shaking his head, Harry looked down the street, where he saw a newspaper. It was the London Daily Post and the title, made Harry sigh. This man wanted to be his friend?! _Two more victims claimed by the East End Ripper_ or probably Jack the Ripper. His so called ‘friend’ was Jack the Ripper…

Suddenly, there was a “ding” almost like an elevator sound and Harry found himself in front of a screen saying ‘good deeds’. His immortal was giving one coin to a homeless man. He shared food with some lady (who he probably liked because even though she was malnourished, she was still pretty) and… that was it.

Harry looked up all of the sudden and was back in the pub, frowning at the immortal. Death nodded at him.

“Not bad for your first time. If you had seen it on a mortal, what would have been your assessment?” Argui Dawjan asked.

_Death_ , Harry answered.

Argui Dawjan nodded. “And why?”

While the immortal talked to Harry, he concentrated to answer Death. _Because he’s too bad of a person to stay alive. And before you say something, I know that this isn’t always what you decide, but there’s nobody in his life that he could care about._

Death agreed and smiled. “Now try with the lady” he pointed at the old woman sitting at the corner table, which Harry had already tried.

Harry looked at his beer and tried to work with his Death Magic. Suddenly he seemed to be in the middle of her memories. She was born shortly after the First World War and was twenty one when the second one broke out. Her two brothers went to fight, but never returned. Harry saw her sitting on a fence when it was announced that the soldiers would be heading home and she kept sitting until her parents told her that it was use.

The scene changed and it showed her marrying – probably – the man who was sitting on the opposite side of hers. She had a miscarriage, but got three children later.

Harry saw her being surrounded by death basically all the time. Her last born child, died due to sudden infant death syndrome. When her first (alive) son reached the age of twenty five, he died being murdered by a mob of people, who had gotten the wrong man.

Luckily, her second child was still alive today. However, grief had changed her and then her husband died as well. Harry felt how much pain she gone through… And he felt something else waiting inside her body. _Cancer_ , he sighed when he reached reality again.

Death nodded. “You can tell it to start spreading.”

_I thought it would do that on its own…_ Harry frowned.

Argui Dawjan smiled. “Sometimes. Maybe if you wait another year, she might get it anyway. Do you think she should die?”

Harry was a little uncertain. Death seemed to pick up on it and nodded. “If it helps, you can tell me what you think and I tell you want I’m going to do.”

Nodding, Harry agreed with this method. _I’m not so sure… I think that since she went through so much, she might welcome death. Not that everyone who went through a lot has to…_

“You’re rambling, Harry Potter. And I do understand what you’re trying to say. You are right: She won’t see cancer as a punishment, but welcomes it as a release of this painful life.”

Death said something, opened his hands which made a red Glow of Death fly through the air and settle around the woman. They both turned to the man with silvery hair and Harry rubbed his temple. He was not going to stay here and got up.

“Where are you going? We’ve just started to talk!”

Harry stopped and turned around. “I’m sorry, Jack. But I’m not talking to Serial Killers.”

With that, he walked out of the pub, clearly rolling his eyes and almost walked into another person. “Oh, I’m so sor… Draco.”

The Slytherin raised his eyebrows. “Harry, what are you doing with…” he motioned towards Jack the Ripper and Harry sighed.

“I think I have a stalker. I just went here to have something to drink and then he shows up, claiming that he thinks he’s lucky to have found me.”

Draco frowned and Harry remembered that he did know about his secret.

Looking around, he found that Death was gone and dragged the Slytherin around the corner. “This man is an immortal. He has traded his child for immortality. And apparently he wants to be friends with me, even asked me out on a date. But this man is actually… Have you heard of Jack the Ripper?” Harry was suddenly unsure whether or not wizards had heard this name…

“Yes, one of the prostitutes was a witch. So we also heard about him; are you telling me that this man is Jack the Ripper? We should arrest him, right now!”

Harry shook his head. “He’s immortal! How do you want to explain that to someone?” Since he was scared that Jack would walk in on them talking about him, he could convince Draco to walk with him for a few minutes. They talked about Jack the Ripper, but quickly changed topics to Harry’s children coming home for Christmas and the Christmas Ministry Ball, which they all had to attend. Harry was happy to notice that he wasn’t the only one who hated the idea.

And they tried to set a date for a… well, date. However, with Christmas coming, they both had their hands full. And so, they settled on another date once Christmas was over. At least then, they didn’t have that much stress.


	41. Chapter 41

“Daddy!” Athena ran through the masses, her red hair almost horizontal, she was running so fast. Harry opened his arms and hugged his daughters, when she crashed into him. He laughed, having to step back a few inches, but held her tightly. She looked just like Ginny and she always had. Even Molly had told him that Athena as a baby could have been Ginny’s twin.

“I’ve missed you!” she smiled broadly.

Harry chuckled. “I’ve missed you too, pumpkin! But you guys are in third year, so you should be fine without me, right?”

Diana in her Slytherin green jumper appeared in front of him and her twin sister. The two of them didn’t look the same at all. While Athena was a Ginny look alike, Diana had black hair and almost icy blue eyes. In fact, the eyes reminded Harry a little of Argui Dawjan. Of course these eyes perfectly matched her Slytherin antics if she wanted to intimidate someone. “Well, we might like living away from you, but we still love you!”

She hugged Harry as well and once the twins let go of him, Harry caught Kayja walking towards him. She looked a little healthier and smiled weakly. “Hi dad!”

“Hey darling. How was the train ride?”

Kayja grinned and her hazel eyes seemed to twinkle. “It was okay. Fred showed us some of his dad’s new products and we played pranks on Gryffindors.”

“Specifically – on me” a tall young man walked up to them and put his arm around Kayja’s shoulders. “Hi dad.”

Harry smirked. “Hi Thelo, everything okay?”

The blond man nodded and grinned at his siblings. Athena seemed to be extremely over excited and she even jumped around. Harry on the other hand looked over the platform to see Nate, however, there were too many people around.

Hermione and Ron walked over with all their three children present. They greeted Harry’s children, who were all very happy to see their favorite aunt and uncle. “They’re even going to stay with us, children” Harry said and explained: “Their home is being renovated, so until they’re done, they’re going to stay in our home.”

Thelo, Kayja and Rose cheered, while Athena, Diana and Hugo smiled at each other and Lucy – a first year – smiled weakly. Even though she wasn’t new to their family dynamics, she didn’t know which group she could join.

“Has anyone seen Nate?” Harry asked again, before Thelo pointed down the platform. Even though there still were quite a few people standing around – some of which Harry recognized, he couldn’t really make out his youngest son. Well, he was the middle child, but since Athena and Diana were his daughters… he basically was his youngest son.

“He has a girlfriend, dad!” Thelo grinned. Of course, everyone turned to look at him and Harry finally caught sight of him, saying goodbye to a redhaired girl. When Nate finally walked towards his family and realized that probably everyone had seen him, he turned bright red.

Harry was biting his lower lips. Luckily, nobody but Hermione saw it and she frowned slightly, but turned back to Nate. He was glowing red. Death apparently didn’t joke around…

Nate had finally joined their little group and rolled his eyes. “Why are you looking?!”

“Because you've got a girlfriend!” Diana said loudly and received a friendly slap on top of her head by her older brother.

Harry smirked and after some more commotion, in which they almost hadn’t found their cars, Ron had wanted to prove that he could drive a car and Harry and Hermione had both told him not to show off, they finally arrived home. At the train station, even Thelo and Rose had agreed with Harry’s opinion and Rose told her dad that Hermione could drive better than he could. Which, even though it was true, did kind of hurt Ron. Hermione had then promised to take him out onto the streets again to practice driving.

They made it home eventually, Hermione and Ron showing their children where they could sleep and Harry was extremely happy that his house was that huge. The layout was a little strange, since he had changed his own room with Thelo and moved to the ground floor, right next to his office. But now, he was incredibly happy. At least, if anything were to happen, he would be hearing it first.

While the children unpacked and talked about all the fun they were going to have during Christmas, Hermione and Ron at in the kitchen, Hermione slicing bell peppers and Ron shredding the meat, while Harry cooked the rice. It was quiet except for the children yelling through the house and laughing loudly.

“Something’s happening with Nate, isn’t it?” Hermione suddenly asked and looked at Harry who sighed. He rubbed his forehead and nodded.

“He’s glowing red. So, Death chose him to die.”

Ron frowned. “I’m sorry, what is… how? I think I’m not in the loop…”

Harry widened his eyes and turned to Hermione who shrugged her shoulders. And well, Harry decided to tell his best mate everything as well. Since his wife already knew and is was weird that Draco knew about it and Ron didn’t. Once he had finished his tale, Ron shook his head.

“Death can’t just take your children! All of you are so close together, I can’t think of someone missing from your family!”

Harry smiled weakly. “I really don’t want to be missing Nate. Anybody actually. I need to talk to Death tonight.”

Hermione frowned slightly. “You can just talk to him, just like that?”

“Usually, he’s in his realm and whenever I concentrate very much – or I’m sleeping and he wants to train me – I can get there” Harry explained and grabbed the mushrooms, throwing them into a pan and accepting Ron’s meat for another pan. Suddenly loud music roared through the halls, which made Diana and Athena sing loudly (and very badly, but Harry didn’t care. They seemed to have fun, which made it fun for him). “I’m not sure if I can convince him to let Nate go.”

Ron and Hermione were quiet, Ron starting on a salad and Hermione finishing the bell peppers. Harry concentrated on the mushrooms and the meat, until Ron spoke up again. “What if you tell him that you can prove this man that family and friends don’t hold you back? That you basically need them?”

Harry turned around and frowned slightly. “And how would I be doing that?”

“Maybe Death has something like a plan or game or something. And by playing this game, you show him that you can be rational even though your family is involved.”

Shaking his head, Harry started to laugh. “Ron, we both know I’m not rational when it comes to friends or family! I would kill people if they were trying to hurt anyone I care about. And Death, he can read my mind… He knows that.”

Hermione nodded thoughtfully. “What if that is actually his plan? He wants to test you and by giving your family the Gloom of Death…”

“Glow of Death” Harry quickly corrected her.

“Right… Glow of Death. By giving your family that, he wants to see how much you’d be willing to do to protect them. I don’t know.” She frowned. “It doesn’t really make sense…”

Suddenly, a voice made Harry jerk and he narrowed his eyes towards Argui Dawjan who just appeared in a corner behind Ron. “I like her!” Death said and grinned.

While Hermione and Ron looked at Harry for what had happened, he rolled his eyes. _Do you want me to tell her that you like the way she thinks?_

Death smirked. “She would feel special about that, wouldn’t she?” He chuckled. “I’ve come to tell you that we indeed have a few things to discuss tonight. So I’ll be waiting in my realm.”

“Wow” Harry rolled his eyes when Death disappeared after this statement. He then turned back to Hermione. “I’m supposed to tell you, ‘Mione’, that Death likes you and your ideas.”

His best friend turned red and bit her lower lip, clearly unsure whether she should feel honored or scared by an immortal being saying it liked her. Ron was gobsmacked for a few seconds, before starting to laugh loudly.

“What else is new?!” He shook his head and leaned over the table to kiss his wife. “We all like you, so no wonder Death likes you too, love!”

“But it’s _Death_!” Hermione said, before she started giggling and got up to join Harry in cooking. Ron shrugged his shoulders and grabbed his wife to dance with him around the kitchen to the song their children were playing and singing loudly.

Harry shook his head, throwing everything else he had standing around the counter into the pan, adding the mushrooms to the other things and turned around watching his best friends. Nothing much had changed since they had been hiding out in here during the war.

Well, they all had children now and Ron and Hermione were showing their affection openly now, but other than that… they were extremely close and happy to be around each other. And even if Harry sometimes felt like a third wheel, he didn’t want to tell his friends, since they too needed this.

Before Harry could say something, Thelo appeared at the door, stopped dead in his tracks and shook his head. “I came down here, looking for some adults, but it looks like there are none left in this household.”

Harry chuckled. “And what am I, Thelo? Just some servant?”

“Actually, yes” his son answered and grinned. “Isn’t that what parents are?”

“If you keep talking like that, Thelonius James Potter, I will send you back up with no food for tonight!” Harry threatened though everyone knew that he would never do something like that.

He grinned at his son, who smirked. “Dad, you know that I ate on the train, right? Jack, Damien and I snuck into the kitchen before we left. We had a Hogwarts feast in the train.”

Ron stopped dancing and looked from Thelo to Harry. “How come we never had this idea?” Hermione started laughing, but Ron shook his head. “No, honestly! We had everything we needed, we could have just stuffed our robes full of food and eat all the way back to London!”

Harry smirked. “Because I remember someone always having a lot of trouble getting up early enough to be on time down at the train station…”

As if he remembered how it was at Hogwarts, Ron nodded and shrugged his shoulders. “I see your point. Good idea, though, Thelo!”

“Thank you, Uncle Ron.” Thelo seemed very happy that Ron had congratulated him on his idea and Harry was sure that he was going to write his best friends about that. Jack, Damien and Thelo reminded Harry a lot of him, or actually his father’s friends. The three of them did all kinds of good and bad things and were highly supported by ‘Uncle George’ who gave them as much ammunition as they needed. Well, Kay also had a soft spot in George’s heart and she could get as much as she wanted (especially to play against Thelo, which happened more often that Harry had thought from a Hufflepuff).

Harry smiled at his son. “Please tell the others that dinner will be ready in five minutes.”

Nodding, Thelo left the kitchen again, walking up the steps. Hermione and Ron started to set the table, while their children slowly entered the dining room. Harry caught Nate’s red Glow of Death again and swallowed hard. He needed to be able to convince Death not to kill any of his family members ever again. Well, nor any of his friends.


	42. Chapter 42

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry guys, I am really really busy right now and it's only getting crazier, so I haven't gotten to a point of writing more. I'm currently stuck a few chapter away, but most chapters are just the first draft and really aren't as good as I want them to be when I upload. I'm trying to write more right now, but I still have so much more to do.
> 
> Anyway: In case I don't upload for a week, don't be surprised - I'm so busy I haven't even got the time to read comments xD

“So, you wanted to talk to me?” Harry asked as he opened his eyes and found himself back in the scrawny and sinister looking volcanic realm of Death.

Argui Dawjan sat once again on a small hill of old lava and looked down, smiling. “I thought you wanted to talk to _me_.”

Harry nodded slightly. “I do. Why would you target my son, Death?”

“Because you don’t seem to listen, Discipulus! I’m trying to show you something, yet every time I want you to learn something from the death of a family member or a close friend, you cannot resist on saving them. I will target friends and family for as long as you haven’t learned my lesson” Death explained.

“What if” Harry started slowly. He needed to think Hermione’s idea over. “What if I’d prove to you that I can still function, even if my friends and family are targeted? Will you agree to stop giving them the Glow of Death?”

Death was quiet for a few seconds. “Maybe.”

Harry frowned at this answer and shook his head. He couldn’t say something, however, as Death continued talking again quickly. “If what you do next will impress me by what you’ve learnt, I will not only give you the title as Interposito, but also promise not to target your family and friends again. Do you agree with these terms?”

Was it safe to agree to this? And what had Death planned ‘next’? Harry slowly nodded. There was no other way to keep his friends and family safe. “I agree to those terms, Death.”

“Fabulous.” Death grinned. “Now, I would suggest we should look into immortal beings, wouldn’t you agree, Discipulus? This one man seems to be very focused on you.”

Nodding, Harry sighed. This Jack the Ripper man clearly wasn’t done with him, even though Harry had left him in the pub. “He said that Death once approached him and asked him a lot of questions… was that you?”

Argui Dawjan shook his head. “I don’t need to ask human beings. And I would never ask him. Immortals are, most of the time, not nice specimens. They found a way to make themselves live forever and they give away their own flesh and blood.”

“Much like Lucius” Harry heard a faint whisper saying ‘Malfoy’. He ignored it and continued: “…has given away Draco?” And again the whisper repeated Draco’s last name. Harry shook his head.

Death agreed. “Yes, Discipulus. Him giving away his son grants him eternal life and he has also pulled his wife into the deal.”

Harry frowned. “Then why isn’t Draco dead?” The whisper continued again and Harry glared around himself, trying to find the origin. He hadn’t been able to find it, so he sighed and continued speaking. “I’ve seen flashes of this immortal’s life and I’ve seen him sacrificing his son clearly. Why isn’t…” he stopped and shook his head. “Draco Malfoy… dead?” The whisper didn’t say anything and Harry rolled his eyes.

Argui Dawjan smirked weakly. “These traditions change. Maybe in Medieval Traditions, it was important to kill your son right then. Now, the tradition states that you only have to give the sacrifice to Life and she decides to give you the Immortality trait. It has nothing to do with killing the children. And maybe by stopping Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy’s immortality, you can also stop their son from being killed.”

Having heard that he could actually save Draco made Harry very happy and he nodded. “How can I stop people from being immortal?”

With a snap of his fingers, Death conjured a silvery shining book. It illuminated the realm of Death and Harry widened his eyes in anticipation. Or something like that. He would have loved to finally be done with this weird immortal human being that seemed to… well no, actually wanted to take him out for a date.

“I have to warn you, Discipulus. Nothing here has been proven. These are the Death Theories. There are a lot of them, however, since Death isn’t really known to theorize about things… we don’t” Argui Dawjan explained and smiled. He handed the book over to Harry and started to explain.

“There are three big theories. The first one is to save the child devoted to Life, which we could do for your dear friend and clear love interest Draco Malfoy…”

“He’s not… He’s not my love interest, Death”, Harry quickly interrupted Death, feeling himself flush deeply.

Death stopped talking and smiled at him, though it seemed as if he mockingly bowed to him, not believing a thing Harry had said. And yes, Harry also didn’t believe this, since he was quite interested in Draco… “Well, as I said: This method we could try on Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy. The other theory requires you to kill their bodies and quickly within a second welcome them to the Land of the Dead. Since they are immortal, they could regenerate whatever you’ve done to their body. However, if you’ve welcomed them to the other side, they can’t go back.”

Harry narrowed his eyes in thoughts and nodded softly. “Has this theory ever been tried?”

Argui Dawjan shook his head. “Not that I know of.”

Silence was once again over their little realm, when Harry sighed. “So, what’s the third theory?”

“This one…” Death seemed to hesitate. It made Harry wonder why the immortal angel didn’t like to say something. “This one is highly dangerous. It doesn’t only expose the immortal to a highly unhealthy dose of death, but you – Death – as well. This could kill you, literally dissipate you.”

Okay… So at least that explained why Death had hesitated. However… out of all the three of those theories, the last one seemed the most clear of all of them.

Harry sighed. “Tell me more about that one, please.”

Death nodded, once again hesitating. “It’s a spell, written somewhere in here” he pointed to the book. “However, if you want to cast it, you need to complete a few separate tasks which all take about a week to start working. Only once all of these spells and actions are completed, can you cast this… death sentence over the immortal. Theoretically, you can do the spell immediately, but it will hurt you as well.”

“So the preparation’s basically there to protect the caster?” Harry asked thoughtfully.

Death confirmed it and continued. “You only have a short window to cast your curse and only then will it work. You can think of it as a kind of lack of protection spell.”

Harry was quiet, trying to process what he had learnt so far. It all did seem a little risky… However, it was worth looking into those preparation spells and actions. Maybe he needed it someday. Harry could feel a raw kind of power emanating from this book. Apparently, even this book seemed important.

“So what’s the spell?”

Argui Dawjan frowned, before seemingly remembering. “Et Mortuus Est.”

Nodding, Harry looked at the book. He needed to read through it as fast as possible. “Can I take it back into my world?” he asked.

“Not really, I’m sorry. But if you’d like, you can read it here. You will find that reading in this realm is going faster and you can understand even the most difficult of books” Death offered.

Harry smiled weakly. “I should have had access to here when I had to write that final paper in the Auror Trainee Academy.”


	43. Chapter 43

Early mornings were the quietest parts of the days. Especially when there were five children in the house and a family of five as guests. Harry sat at the kitchen table, watching the sky turning slightly bluer every second. With winter mornings not really getting an actual sunset until eight or nine, Harry was happy to see the night slowly turn into day.

“Morning, dad.”

Harry turned to face Thelo, apparently awake as well. “Hi Thelo, how are you awake already? It’s nearly six o’clock. You’re usually not awake until eleven!”

There was a weird kind of silence in the kitchen, even though Harry had meant what he said as a joke. Frowning, he kept looking at Thelo, who walked into the kitchen slowly. “Dad, what is going on with you? I know that there’s something happening.”

“Ah, Thelo” Harry sighed and tried his hardest to show his son an innocent little smile. “You know that there’s always something happening around me. I did warn you when you went to Hogwarts for the first time, that people would stand in line to get to be friends with ‘Harry Potter’s son’, did I not?”

His son nodded. “You did. But I… I’ve listened to what you’ve said yesterday.” Harry motioned his son to go on, trying not to freak out in front of him. How much had he heard?! “I heard you telling Aunt Mione that Death likes her. Is she going to die? And why did Uncle Ron go with it and say that ‘of course Death likes her, who wouldn’t’?”

Harry sighed. His son had heard something weird; that was clear. But he was not going to tell him about him being or becoming the Master of Death. Besides, even though Death thought that Thelo could deal with a lot, he really didn’t want to pull his son into something like that.

“Thelo, you know us, right? Ron, Hermione and I tend to go crazy when nobody else is around.” He chuckled. “Yesterday was just like that.”

Glad to see his son grin over that, Harry smiled and got up. “Coffee?”

By the time Kayja and Rose showed up in the kitchen, Thelo had already told Harry all about his pranks and since nobody else had been around to see his reaction, Harry had enjoyed hearing about that immensely. Nothing had reminded him more of Hogwarts than hearing his son and friends mess with professors and McGonagall trying to keep them under control.

“Did we tell you, that Headmistress McGonagall is going to retire at the end of the school year?” Kayja said while she sat down at the kitchen table, grabbing some coffee herself.

Harry was surprised to hear that, but it did make sense. “Well, she is old. She was even old when I started there, so I’m surprised she stayed on for so long.”

“It’s probably because of all the Weasley’s Wizards Wheezes and Thelo’s pranks that she’s going to retire” Rose offered.

Thelo shook his head and shot back: “No, I think she’s having had enough Weasleys around Hogwarts.”

Harry chuckled into his coffee and got up to start breakfast, while he listened to the banter of their children. Well, they had grown up in an environment, where banter was the most important thing. Ginny and Harry had gone very hard on each other, even in front of their children. And well, Hermione, Ron and Harry had enjoyed arguing with each other on every occasion. When the children had gotten old enough to understand that nothing was meant as an insult, they had started to join the banter as well and soon they had even argued with each other without adults present.

The next few people arriving in the kitchen and settling around the kitchen table were Hugo, Lucy and Athena. Harry was surprised by that, since it wasn’t even eight o’clock in the morning. He quickly made breakfast and ordered the children to eat, to which Thelo responded with “Don’t tell me what to do!” and Rose asked him to make pancakes instead, all in good fun.

Harry smirked and walked up the stairs to get Ron up and ready for the last day at work. Hermione was going to stay with the children, while Ron and he were supposed to finish as many folders as they could before Christmas break.

When he had gotten Ron out of bed, he also woke up Hermione and told her to get her husband down as fast as possible, while he was hiding in the shower. His best friend only nodded and fell back, eyes closed into the bed.

Harry chuckled and walked back down to the people that seemed to be more alive. Nate had arrived as well and he was joking with Hugo and trying to include Lucy into their discussions. He liked to watch his children’s dynamics. Even though the sight of Nate made him slightly sad, and he hoped by proving his worth to Death that he could save his son, but depending on what the test was going to be, he wasn’t sure he could save him.

Finally, Diana arrived – earlier than usual and also earlier than Ron – and she sat down next to her twin sister, talking about the Quidditch games this season and Thelo stopped his discussion about NEWTs with Kayja and Rose to try and make Diana admit that her move in the Slytherin-Gryffindor game hadn’t been approved by the official rules.

Harry stood at the counter, thinking about how lucky Ron and Hermione were to not have children in opposing Quidditch teams. Their discussion went into a full on speech war and was only finished by Ron walking into the room, telling them that nobody would get presents if they continued to be so loud. At least Hermione, who walked in after him and shook her head, made clear not to make the children feel bad.

“Do you need to go to work today?” Lucy asked and rolled her eyes at her dad.

Hermione smiled and ran her fingers through her daughter’s hair, messing with the already messed up red hair. “I’m going to be here, Lucy. And dad is not going to do anything dangerous, right?”

Ron nodded and kneeled in front of his daughter who was sitting on the kitchen chair at the very end. “Only boring paperwork, Lu. Nothing fun.” He seemed to catch his wife’s look and added: “And nothing dangerous. I promise.”

Lucy then nodded and Harry pushed a coffee mug into Ron’s hand and told him to drink as fast as possible, since they needed to go to work in five minutes.

“At least after today, we’re on holiday, right?” Ron asked and grinned.


	44. Chapter 44

Harry straightened his tie for the millionth time tonight and sighed. Whose idea was it to wear this stupid thing to the Christmas Ministry Party? Well no, whose idea was it to actually _make_ a Christmas Ministry Party. And why did he need to attend?

Next to lame discussions and way too much booze, Harry had also problems staying calm when he could see the river of red. Almost as if they were all already bleeding. Everyone – each and everyone – was surrounded by the red Glow of Death. Well, two people he didn’t know had orange Glows of Death and one had a black one. So he was cursed and the other two were meant to die. Everyone else could basically be saved; however, Harry had no idea how. The only thing he knew was that this must have been Death’s test for him.

And a test it was, since not only Draco but also Hermione and Ron were surrounded by a red glow. Harry had decided not to tell them and ruin their night. He was just glad that all of his children (and Ron and Hermione’s children) were staying with Molly and Arthur. At least they weren’t going to die.

“Cool party, huh?” Harry turned around to see Draco walking up to him and Harry shook his head.

“What happened to your language? You’re usually behaving and speaking so much more like a pureblood” Harry teased and grinned.

The pureblood shrugged his shoulders. “I tried to mix it up a little. If you’re talking to a commoner, _one cannot use discombobulated words_.”

Harry frowned and shook his head. “I think you’ve used your only big word in this sentence wrong.”

Draco laughed and pushed Harry’s hands away from trying to straighten his tie again. “Stop it, Harry. You look fine, don’t mess it up by being nervous.”

Blushing slightly, Harry rolled his eyes. “I was going for ‘looking extremely handsome’, so I must have failed my goal.”

While Draco chuckled and straightened Harry’s tie himself, next to helping him with his jacket and basically everything. Harry on the other hand kept looking around for something that was going to happen. However, nothing seemed out of place. Well, except for Ainsworth who looked around every second, but since he was the speaker for today and he had to make some kind of toast for everyone, Harry kind of related. He had also always hated to do speeches.

“All good, Harry” Draco said and Harry’s attention was brought back to the Slytherin standing in front of him. “And I do believe that you can be classified as ‘extremely handsome’ now.”

Harry rolled his eyes grinningly and looked at the floor then, before glancing up at the other man again. Draco could somehow bring him back to his teenager years again. “I don’t think that can change from fine to extremely handsome in just two minutes.”

The Slytherin grinned and apparently had the courage to wink at him. “That’s the Malfoy magic, you know.”

This made Harry laugh and he shook his head. “You’re an awful charmer, Draco.”

“But a charmer nonetheless.”

Before they could continue talking, Hermione and Ron joined their discussion. “Good evening, Draco” Hermione greeted the Slytherin. “How are you doing?”

“Fine, thank you” he responded. “And you? I do love your dress tonight, I have to say.”

Harry’s best friend grinned. “Because it’s Slytherin green?”

Draco laughed and shook his head. “No, but now that you’re saying it, you would have fit into Slytherin rather nicely!”

Ron put an arm around Hermione and shook his head. “Are you sure, Malfoy? A mudblood in Slytherin? I don’t think that would have worked so well…”

“Right. I’m sorry, I completely forgot.” Draco rolled his eyes. “I really am sorry about how I’ve treated you…”

Harry placed his hand on Draco’s mouth and made him shut up like that. “Don’t! We’ve talked about this already, Draco! Stop bringing the party mood down!”

Draco pushed his hand away, while Ron and Hermione laughed. Harry could detect a very small smirk on the Slytherin lips. The lights dimmed slightly and he turned to the stage at the front, blushing slightly as he realized that Draco had caught Harry looking at his lips.

Ainsworth walked up to the stage and smiled at everyone in attendance. He cleared his throat while the discussions settled down and he got ready to say something. When it was finally quiet, Harry looked through the hall to find Dean and Seamus ignoring everyone around them and kissing in a corner, though they stopped right now, as if realizing that something important was happening right now. Harry smirked slightly about their actions.

“Christmas” Ainsworth started, “is a day of joy and charity. May Merlin make you rich in both.” He stopped again, as if to bring home his message. “My name is Anthony Ainsworth, I’m the Head Auror here. In the name of the Ministry, we’d like to welcome a few special guests!” he pointed through the crowds towards the people he had been conversing all evening long. Harry only frowned at that, but shrugged his shoulders. He then welcomed them all to the Christmas Ministry Party.

“Despite the fact that we all have had a lot to do during these past twelve months” Ainsworth continued, “and we’ve had a few dry moments in our system, we continue to work hard for and within justice to bring peace to the Wizarding World. We unite people. And Christmas is about unity.”

Harry heard Draco leaning closer and he turned slightly, to hear him whisper something into his ear. “He’s a good speaker, I have to admit.”

Smirking slightly, Harry nodded. “He probably wrote this speech in January last year and just kept improving it throughout the year” he whispered back. Draco held a hand in front of his mouth as not to laugh out loud and interrupt the forced silence.

Ainsworth had placed a deliberate pause here and looked into the crowd, before he continued. “Only in February, our Undercover Offices have taken a hard hit by the Daily Prophet. It wasn’t easy to overcome, but together we succeeded. In August, who can forget the breakthrough in Magical Equipment Technology? Being able to not only perform in the Magical World, but also hiding with Muggles, by using a portable telly and…” Ainsworth stopped speaking, while a lot of Muggleborn and halfblood wizards and witches tried not to make it obvious that they were laughing. Harry being one of those, next to Hermione.

It was clear that Ainsworth wanted to talk about phones and the MET having somehow found a way so that wizards could carry phones without constantly draining the batteries. However, Ainsworth unknowingly talking about portable televisions (even though theoretically, a phone could also be used as a telly), was the funniest thing ever. And Harry kept having a picture in his head of an adult man walking around with an old 80’s TV in his hands, trying to watch what was on there and looking at the floor, where he was walking. That was just too funny.

“Portable phones! Please excuse me” Ainsworth smiled weakly. “Credit where credit’s due: The MET has done wonders! And then this month, where my own Department has gotten the power to finally destroy the uprising of Death Eaters! As I’ve said, we’ve been through a lot this year. However, I am proud of what we have created and showed the public. We – as the Ministry – are a unit not to be messed with! So let’s celebrate that! Unity is the best and most amazing power in this hectic Christmas time. I wish you and your families a very happy Christmas! Now let’s raise our glasses to us – a unit of strong and independent people.”

They said their cheers, Ainsworth smiling at everyone. However, Harry frowned slightly. Something didn’t feel right. His Senses were suddenly tingling again. Something was about to happen and he had no idea what was going on…

The party started again, while Ainsworth left the stage and Harry shook his head. He turned to look at Ron and Hermione, just wanting to say something, when an explosion sent an earthquake through the Ministry. The ceiling rattled and a few pieces broke off, releasing the better part of a chandelier.

The doors were ripped open and Harry turned quickly, wand in his hands, staring at the intruders. They were all wearing black cloaks, billowing behind them as they entered the room, shooting spells around.

Harry heard a cry and then a sound as if rope has been cut. Looking up, he saw the beautiful golden and silvery pieces of the chandelier falling down.

Thinking quickly, he grabbed Ron, stopping time effectively. What now? He couldn’t just disarm the Neo Death Eaters. Last time he had done that, Death hadn’t been pleased. If he really wanted to show him that he had grown, he needed to figure out how to do his job efficiently.

He checked the room for any person that was about to die and found two women standing under the falling chandelier. He went through the people standing around, happy for everyone standing so close that he could keep having time stopped. When he finally arrived, he concentrated on entering the life of hers.

She was a secretary for one of the higher Officials and had two young girls. So she was a single mother and from what Harry could gather, she needed to be around for them. Once he left her life, he looked into the other. This woman seemed to have lived life to the fullest. She had travelled around Africa, made countless of beautiful memories and learnt self-defense in Tokyo, while traveling through Japan. Harry could detect a will to save the other woman’s life and left her life. He knew that this woman was going to die, but she saved the other one. He then walked through the hall again, checking in on the people standing closest to the Neo Death Eaters. They couldn’t be saved and he realized quickly that by saving them, he would potentially get everyone else killed.

With this view, he walked throughout the hall, checked up on everyone, even though he was fearful to look at Kingsley or Dean and Seamus in the corner, but he found that luckily, nobody he really needed was about to die without him destroying the time line.

When he was back in his place, he realized that he hadn’t checked for Hermione, Ron or Draco. However, time ran out and he felt a Death Curse rushing through the air, flaring. Harry widened his eyes and jumped – right in front of it.


	45. Chapter 45

“I am not happy with you, Paruluum.”

Harry groaned and opened his eyes to find himself in the realm of Death. Argui Dawjan sat on the floor, raising his eyebrows. Harry coughed and tried to sit up, though his whole body was hurting and he quickly gave up.

“What is going on, Death?” Harry asked, slightly confused.

Death shook his head slightly. “Well, since you are the future Master of Death, you are unable to die until you have mastered everything.” 

Harry frowned. “I’m immortal?”

“No. You will live your life until your human body will die and then you will become the immortal being without an actual body. For now you are an immortal being inside a human vessel” Death explained. “That, however, doesn’t mean that your body can’t get hurt.”

Nodding, Harry once again tried to sit up. He painfully lifted his torso, panting when he finally sat straight. “It’s the Death Curse, isn’t it?”

Death confirmed it. “Yes. And your body needs a few hours to heal from it. It’s best if you stay in here until that’s over.”

Harry frowned. “But the people might think I died… They don’t know that my pulse stops when I’m in here! They don’t even know that I can’t die! – I didn’t know until now.”

Argui Dawjan frowned slightly. “Do you wish to return to your world? It’s going to be a lot of pain over there. We’re in my realm and you can feel the pain.”

“I don’t want them to worry about me…”

Death was quiet until he finally shrugged his shoulders. “Alright. It’s your life. Just be prepared for the pain.”

Before Harry could feel himself being pulled back, he turned to his teacher again. “Hey… Did I pass the test?”

The silence following his question was clear. He hadn’t. Apparently, jumping in front of his friends had destroyed this contract and he knew why. He should have let the Death Curse hit its target. Maybe it would have been Draco – his newest friend. Or Hermione and she would meet her baby girl… or Ron. He would have hugged Fred dearly if that would have happened.

“You passed the test.”

Harry narrowed his eyes and looked up. “I did? But I… I jumped in front of the spell… I should have let them die…”

Death smiled weakly. “Well, you see, I wanted to see whether or not you could resist saving your friends first. You, however, started with complete strangers, looking into their lives. You made your rounds and only when the time was up, realized that you hadn’t had checked their lives. You did more than I had anticipated. So… You are now an Interposito.”

The immortal bowed slightly and Harry felt pain rushing his body like a bucket of water over his head. He opened his eyes wide, letting out a scream and turned to his side, hugging his legs tightly, trying to somehow get rid of the pain inside… everywhere.

He felt a hand softly pushing his mouth open and something that felt like water given to him. He panted, feeling as if a thousand knives were being pushed into his body repeatedly. He couldn’t say anything, and started knocking his head onto the wooden floor, to at least feel some other kind of pain and distract him.

“No. No, no, no, no” a soft voice said and placed a cushion under his head. Harry would have loved to kill this person, but he had no energy left than to try and fight the pain in his body. He heard people talking, though it could have just as well been the TV streaming alien voices and languages, since he couldn’t understand anything.

Only once the pain finally subsided and he released his legs a little, panting hard, did he realize where he was. The door closed and Draco walked into his view, crouching down, before sitting on the floor, smiling softly.

“Hi there. Are you okay?” he asked and stroked a hair out of Harry’s face.

Harry tiredly shook his head. “No. I’m very much not.”

Draco chuckled softly and continued to stroke over his face, following the jaw line. “Well, you did jump in front of the Deadly Curse. You’re lucky people didn’t see it. At least that way nobody thought you had died.”

“How did you know I wasn’t dead? When I’m in the other realm my pulse isn’t working.” It felt nice being so close to Draco and he somehow managed to take away his pain only by touching him.

“I do have a few books about the Master of Death, right?” Draco winked at him. “And I just knew that the Great Harry Potter couldn’t die because of trying to save someone else.”

“I very much could.”

Draco shook his head. “I don’t believe that, Auror Potter.”

Harry smiled weakly and looked around. He was lying on the cold floor in the toilet, a cushion under his head and a headache slowly rising. However, his pain had starting to leave him. He yawned and turned to Draco. “What did you give me?”

The Slytherin chuckled and leaned at the wall. “It’s a Pain Relieve and Pepper Up potion mix tainted with some Life Elixir. It’s highly addictive, but I decided you needed it to get out of the place where you were before.”

“Thank you”, Harry said quietly. “I’m pretty sure you’ve saved my life.”

“Well, you saved mine first.”

Harry tried to get up, but his arms gave up under him and he groaned, falling into his cushion again. “Fuck. How did you know about that potion thing?”

Draco smiled, removing his hand from Harry’s face – and in all honesty, Harry wanted it back – and brought a book to Harry’s attention. “It’s called ‘Dark Secrets about the Master of Death’. Frankly, I thought it would be more useful to me than for you, since it had a lot of things explaining how the Master of Death thing worked. And in one chapter it explained that a Master of Death to be cannot die and then some helpful potions for any pain you would feel.”

“How is that an actual book?” Harry widened his eyes and tried to grab the book, but it was too heavy and he sighed, shaking his head.

The Slytherin chuckled. “Anything I can help you with?”

Harry rolled his eyes. “Could you read the author’s description to me? I want to know who wrote it and if I could maybe talk to them about my condition.”

“Way ahead of you, Potter. The Author is – at least that’s what he claims – a former Master of Death. Apparently, the Death character thought he wasn’t fit for the job and abandoned him before he reached his ‘Interposito’ stage” Draco explained. “Apparently, he died two days after he had published it and it was hidden from then on. I have the only copy.”

Sighing, Harry nodded. That did sound like something Death would do if someone would not be listening to him. He seemed to be a little scary, though weirdly enough, he never outright threatened to kill Harry himself. Maybe he did in fact like him…

Yawning again, Harry tried sitting up and with the help of Draco, he managed to do it rather quickly. “Thanks.”

Draco smiled. “You’re welcome.”

The door was opened and Harry tore his eyes away from Draco to see his best mate, looking rather relieved. “Oh, I am so happy to see you! I thought you were dead!”

He walked over pulling Harry to his feet. Draco supported him quickly, putting Harry’s arm around his shoulders and holding him tight on his hip. Harry groaned, still feeling the pain in his legs, but didn’t want to sit back down.

“Ron, next time, please ask if I’m ready to get up.”

His friend blushed slightly. “Sorry, mate. I thought nothing had happened to you! I mean, how can you be alive when the curse hit you!?”

Harry sighed. “I’m the future Master of Death, Ron. I cannot die until my body isn’t strong enough anymore. That’s what I learnt today. Where’s ‘Mione?”

Instead of Ron, Draco was the one to answer. “Oh, she went to look after your children. We’re being interviewed by Ainsworth and other Officials to what has happened, but Hermione wanted to go and look after the children.”

“She already gave her statement. Ours is coming up as well, are you two ready?”

“How can I walk over there on my own?” Harry asked, trying to make a step without Draco’s support, but not entirely managing it.

The Slytherin held on tightly and shook his head. “We’re just going to say that the Death Curse hit you on your legs and that I gave you something against it, but that it’s still healing.”

Harry nodded, but sighed. “Okay. Let’s go.”


	46. Chapter 46

Harry had only wanted to go and collect his children to go back to his own home, but when Molly had seen his conditions and heard a somewhat more innocent version of what had actually happened (since some of Harry’s children were still awake and seeing their father’s well being), she had promptly changed the sofa to a bed and told Harry to lie down and sleep. Ron and Hermione had also been thrown into Ron’s old room and only then had Molly been happy.

So, when Harry woke up next, he felt normal again. And he also opened his eyes to his children quietly playing games or doing homework or studying. Harry sighed and pushed himself to lean on his elbows.

“What are you guys doing here?” he asked with a somewhat sleepy voice.

Thelo looked up and grinned. “Dad! It’s eleven o’clock, how are you still asleep?!”

Harry chuckled and fell face first back into his pillow. “You are evil, Thelo. You should have been in Slytherin” he said when he turned on his back.

Diana sat down on his bed and smiled. “In my opinion, all of us could have been in Slytherin. Well, except for you, Kayja, sorry.”

“Don’t worry, I don’t take things personally” she grinned and put her book down to look at Harry. “Are you feeling better? We were a little scared for you.”

“I’m feeling fine, children. Really. I think sleeping so long actually helped me” Harry explained and smiled.

Nate appeared at the door and Harry widened his eyes, looking for a Glow of Death. However, his teacher had held his words: He was no longer glowing red. So, his friends and family was safe from dying because of someone killing them.

“Hey, so… Hi dad!” he grinned. “Grandma just sent me up here to check up on you. She said that the Magical Sleep should have worn off by now and I believe it has.”

“Nate, tell me your Grandma didn’t teach you how to do it!” Harry sat up and frowned at his son. Even though he was a Ravenclaw, Harry was sure that when the Hat had decided this house, he’d had to choose between Slytherin and Ravenclaw. Well, everyone else in the room was also thinking it, including Nate himself.

He shook his head. “No.” For a second he didn’t say something until he grinned broadly. “But Uncle George did!”

Harry groaned and shook his head. He got to his feet and chuckled. “I think I need to have a word with your Uncle George.” All of his children told him not to, since George was probably their favorite uncle. He did give them a lot of his joke products and he always taught them a few rather useless spells. Though all the children loved to use them whenever they had the chance to.

Grinning, Harry left the room and walked into the kitchen, finding George sitting there with his son Fred and making the cutlery dance and singing Christmas songs. Well, until Molly grabbed the cutlery and cleaned it one more time, telling them to go and find something else to play around with – for example the snow.

George looked up and laughed warmly. “Harry, old fart! How are you doing?”

“Good, thanks. And how are you?” They hugged and George laughed.

“There are not enough hours in a day: I had to close my store for today, I couldn’t keep up with all the customers. I especially don’t like all those last-minute customers who think that I can just like that adapt some kind of prank product. I’m not Albus Dumbledore!” George rolled his eyes, while Harry chuckled. George had a point; Dumbledore did have the ability to do ten thousand things at the same time.

Molly came over and hugged Harry wishing him a merry Christmas. “We’re unpacking presents in a few hours. Arthur’s still at the Ministry. They’re looking into all the possibilities of why…” looking at Fred, she turned back and vaguely said: “…these things have happened.”

Harry frowned slightly. “Then shouldn’t we be there as well?”

His mother-in-law shrugged her shoulders. “They didn’t say anything about that. Maybe they already have a few Aurors around and didn’t need you. I for one am happy, that they don’t take parents away from their children at Christmas.”

Well, apparently, the Weasley household was trying to outdo each other, since once again, Harry thought that Molly had a point. And he was happy to be there, surrounded by his children.

Speaking of these little devils, Nate and Diana, closely followed by Thelo and Athena stormed the kitchen, telling and screaming about how Harry shouldn’t be mad at Uncle George and that they were going to be nice from now on. Kayja followed as well, grinning broadly and Molly shoo’d all of them out of her kingdom into the snow outside.

“What are they talking about, Harry?” George asked and smirked.

Harry laughed. “I may have suggested that I’d talk to you about all the pranks and spells you teach them so that they won’t be able to do that again.”

George was now laughing as well. Before long, Hermione and Ron joined them outside, followed by Lucy. Their oldest one’s seemed to enjoy sleeping a little longer.

Thelo had shot a snowball and probably intended on hitting his father, but stroke his Uncle Ron square in the face. Ron stood there, a little surprised, before shaking his head, just like a dog would do get water out of his fur, so that the snow flew to all sides.

“Okay, so children against adults?” he asked and cast a snowball, shooting back at Thelo. When the young man successfully evaded the snowball, it simply turned around midair and hit the back of his head.

“Uncle Ron! That’s not fair!”

Kayja grinned. “You were the one to hit Uncle Ron. You can’t just think that there’s nothing happening now.”

“Yeah!” Athena laughed. “I mean, it was meant for dad, but you just couldn’t aim correctly.”

Harry laughed. “It was meant for me?!” he asked loudly and pretended not to have noticed it. “I don’t think you can mess with me, children!”

He cast the same spell Ron had used, creating a snowball and threw it towards Thelo, who yelped and tried to run away from the ball. Since he was a Quidditch player he could evade the enchanted snowball for quite some time, but it hit him eventually.

“Dad, what’s the spell? I want to use it as well!” Diana asked and this time, even George shook his head, not revealing their secret.

“If we win the snowball fight, you have to tell us!” Fred called and crossed his arms over his chest. “But for the length of the fight you’re not allowed to use that spell. It’s cheating!”

Hermione frowned slightly. “And what happens if we win?”

It was quiet for a while, until Nate shrugged his shoulders. “You won’t.”

The adults laughed and Thelo patted his shoulder. “If we lose, we’ll do the dishes for a week.”

“Make it a month and you have yourself a deal!” George answered and Harry realized that his brother-in-law should have been a Slytherin as well. How he hadn’t realized it earlier was a little concerning, but he hadn’t time to think about it, since the children agreed to these terms and started a snowball fight.

Somehow, they really thought they had a chance. The adults however, quickly had a system locked. Harry and George were aiming with their snowballs, shooting all their children, George even enchanting half of them, while Ron and Hermione were busy with building snowballs. Their children tried hard to get to their efficiency, but never quite reached their height.

After half an hour, Molly called everyone inside, hot chocolate and Christmas cookies ready. They sat around the warm fire in the living room, talking, just having fun. Only a few hours later, the entire extended Weasley family sat in the living room, the room itself having been enlarged and a few things having been changed into chairs or couches.

Only the Weasley patriarch was missing, when suddenly a silvery blue Patronus entered their home. Everyone was quiet, half expecting it to be some bad news about Arthur, half thinking that someone had missed the invitation.

It was a swan, so not Arthur’s weasel Patronus. When it opened its mouth, you could hear Ainsworth’s voice.

“I would like to announce that the Ministry has decided to close down the Auror’s departments.”

Silence reigned over the room for what seemed a whole minute, before Harry frowned and turned to look at Ron. However, both Ron and Hermione seemed to be completely frozen by the information they had just received. Shaking his head, Harry turned back to the Patronus. What was Ainsworth doing? The Aurors were incredibly important!

“Since our investigation amount has dropped over fifty percent, the Minister and I have decided to put the Ministry Security Guards Departement in place of Aurors and have them investigate other things” Ainsworth continued. “The Aurors are at fault for the destruction of the Ministry Christmas Party. We have placed them inside the Ministry for support, yet they were all eliminated. Only the Ministry Security Guards were able to keep the intruders in place at the end.”

Harry shook his head. The Security wasn’t as trained as they were. And even if Ainsworth had the information right, Aurors were supposed to keep the public safe. How could the MSGD help everyone around Great Britain?! The Aurors had a four year Trainee Apprenticeship, in which they didn’t only learn how to deal with things happening in the fields and hidden spells, but also how to defend themselves against the Dark Arts. Security didn’t know anything about that!

“Ainsworth’s in over his head” Ron finally said and shook his head. Harry agreed instantly. How could he think something like that would ever work?!

“We need to do something!” Harry said, trying to think of what would be best to do.

Hermione placed a hand on his shoulder and shook her head. “I don’t think there’s anything you can do right now. If Ainsworth actually laid off all Aurors, you will not be able to get to him.” She was quiet for a second, before she continued. “I could ask Kingsley what all of this means, but I’m not sure he’ll tell me. I am still on holiday.”

Diana sat down in front of Harry. “Dad? Does that mean you don’t have a job anymore?”

Harry smiled weakly. “For now, yes. But I will try to get my job back, okay little Monster?”

Her nickname broke the ice and everyone started talking over each other and it remained a chaos until Arthur floo’d in through the fireplace, shaking his head. Molly brought him something to drink and he fell into a chair.

As suddenly as the voices were raised, silence had entered their living room again. Arthur sighed, before sitting up again. “I thought that I would retire in peace, however, it seems as if this will be the end.”

“The end of what, Arthur?” Hermione asked and frowned slightly.

“The end of the Ministry.”


	47. Chapter 47

Harry followed Hermione and Ron into the latter’s old room. It was still decorated in clear Gryffindor colors and his old posters of Quidditch players – including one of Krum who’s head had been crossed out – hung around the walls. There were a lot of family photos and the newspaper of them all in Egypt was framed over his bed. Somehow he had gotten Pettigrew out of the picture and everyone seemed to be happy about that.

“So, what do you think Ainsworth’s after?” Hermione asked, as she sat down on the small bed, which was covered by a Gryffindor red bed sheet. Ron sighed and sat down next to her, while Harry didn’t have much patience to clear a chair or other furniture of Ron’s thousand little things, and sat Indian style on the floor.

Ron rubbed his temples. “I have no idea” he muttered.

“It’s weird though…” Harry said thoughtfully. He caught Hermione’s raised eyebrows and started to explain what he meant rather quickly. “I had suspicions against him for a while now.”

“What do you mean?” she asked and frowned.

Even Ron narrowed his eyes at Harry. “Is it maybe because you’re the Master of Death?” he whispered, not willing to let anybody else know – whether or not there was someone standing outside of their room.

“I don’t know… Do you guys remember the speech at Christmas?” Harry asked, as a rather scary thought formed in his mind. 

Ron chuckled and nodded. “It was a good speech.” 

“No, I don’t care about how good or bad the speech was… He called the Neo Death Eaters…” Before Harry could finish his thought, Hermione gasped and finished the sentence rather quickly.

“Death Eaters! He called them Death Eaters!”

Harry nodded. “Yes. From my undercover experience with Neo Death Eaters, they don’t like to call themselves ‘Neo’…”

“Mate, no” Ron shook his head, not willing to accept what they had just found out. “Our Head Auror can’t be a… No.” Again, he shook his head, before looking from Hermione to Harry, trying hard to get them to say that they might be wrong.

His wife seemed to ignore him, or simply didn’t realize his reaction, since she already started her ‘I-need-to-have-a-perfect-plan’-mode. “If he really is a Neo Death Eater, we need to investigate.”

“We can’t. Aurors have been disband. We can’t go back into the Ministry without raising suspicions.” Harry shook his head.

“You can’t. I can.”Hermione grinned triumphantly. “I’m the future Minister of Magic, Kingsley keeps me there to train.”

“Guys!” Ron shook his head, holding up his hands to keep both Harry and Hermione from trying to interrupt him. “Our Head Auror can’t be a Neo Death Eater! We’ve been trying to fight them with his help! How can he play for both teams?”

Harry shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe he wants to be their ‘savior’. He kills a lot of the higher ranks, walks in and tells the leader that he can help them somehow…” Harry frowned remembering the shadows and what they had told him.

However, he didn’t have time to say anything, as Ron disapproved quickly. “What if we’re wrong and Ainsworth just thinks that this is the perfect move to establish a better and more intimate program?”

“Intimate for whom?” Hermione asked, rolling her eyes. “The Ministry Guards can’t protect the public!”

Ron seemed to be at loss for his argument and shrugged his shoulders. Harry narrowed his eyes. “You know I can talk to shadows, right?” He saw Hermione widen her eyes, but decided not to give her the option to say something. “They told me a while ago that Ainsworth’s the leader of the Neo Death Eaters.”

This comment seemed to shut up Ron and he sighed, shaking his head. Harry knew exactly why he had wanted to believe that Ainsworth was an okay guy: For once in their lives something should have worked fine, not like that.

Hermione looked at both men and smiled then. “Well, I guess our plan is in motion then.”

After a short silence, Ron chuckled. “You know… this – us against the Ministry – reminds me of something.”

“Yeah, fighting against the Ministry and Voldemort” Harry answered smirking and looked at Hermione.

She snorted. “Only this time, we’re better trained and ready to play their game.”

A knock at the door made all of them quiet and when it opened, Kayja stood there, looking at all of them. It was probably clear to everyone what had happened in this short time where they had been gone from the happy family celebration.

Harry smiled at his daughter. “Hey Kay, what’s going on?”

“I know what you’re trying to do, Dad. You want to fight for the Aurors. Please don’t do that. I’ve already lost my friends, I don’t want to lose you as well!” Kayja narrowed her eyes and blinked faster, clearly trying to fight the tears.

“Kay, you do not have to worry.” Harry said as softly as he could, remembering that he couldn’t die. “I will not go into a fight I know I can’t win.”

His daughter crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head. “You shouldn’t go fighting at all. You promised Mom that you would stop going out into the field as soon as possible! The others might think that you’re the coolest dad for doing that, but we’re all secretly scared that you might die.” 

“I won’t.” Harry promised, knowing very well that he would be keeping this promise for as long as he could – maybe even longer than his children were alive, though that was rather weird.

Now, even Ron started to say something, when he smiled at Harry’s daughter. “The world needs to be safe again, Kayja. We’re trying to help there.”

“Uncle Ron! You have children as well, and we’re all scared that you might go back to the heights of all your stories. But you’re not children anymore! You can’t just go and hide somewhere, watching people for the better part of four months or however long it was.” Kayja seemed to think that she had figured out why Harry and his friends wanted to fight the Ministry. And maybe she was right to some degree, however, Harry knew his friends and he knew that they simply couldn’t live with a corrupt Ministry – or part of the Ministry.

Hermione smiled weakly. “Kay, we understand that” she said. “But you need to understand that we’ve fought all our lives for something. It’s not new to us. We know what we should do and how to do it perfectly. And right now, we’re even trained correctly.”

“Aunt Mione, you should be standing on my side! They could get hurt!” Kayja threw her hand into the air, clearly unhappy that now even Hermione, who was usually on her side, decided to stay and fight when the argument that they both had children was such a compelling one.

“Well you see, with Hermione we can’t get hurt that much. Without her, neither Ron nor I would have gotten out alive of this mess in our late teens.” Harry said and smiled weakly.

Kay shook her head and stormed out of the room, running down the stairs as if thunder was rushing through the sky. She was definitely going to tell someone, the three adults new it. Harry took Ron and Hermione’s hand and apparated to Grimmauld Place 12.

Here, Harry strengthened the wards with every spell he knew and at the end decided to let even a little bit of stronger magic weave into it. While Harry was busy doing that, Ron had gotten the authority to close the floo and cut all ways to contact them through fire or anything else. Hermione, meanwhile, sat down and started writing a few letters. Molly and Arthur knew that these three couldn’t be held back when they had started on an idea. And they also knew that the children needed to be kept safe and with what Hermione, Harry and Ron had planned… the children were the safest with them.

At least that was what everyone hoped.


	48. Chapter 48

Something felt weird. Harry stepped back and looked at the wards. He tested them with a simple spell he had learnt in his apprenticeship. Nothing was out of place here. They were stronger than before and he knew for a fact that with the new addition of Death Magic, not even the strongest Auror could get in.

So, it wasn’t his ward. Something else was out of place… Out of the corner of his eyes he noticed a shadow and turned around quickly, wand in hand, when he recognized Zil Before he could say anything, Zil was already speaking with some kind of emergency in his voice. **You need to go to Draco Malfoy!** ”

“Why?!”

**Just come with us, now!** Zil said and once Harry nodded, he felt the shadows rush him again and he suddenly stood in the middle of Draco’s apartment. Or kitchen rather. There was a very specific green powder everywhere again.

Harry turned around and couldn’t even guess the colors of the floor or the couch, since it was all just green. He coughed quickly and made his way out of the kitchen to see Draco on the floor.

“Draco!” Harry ran through the green powder, leaving brown footprints of the floor trailing behind him. “Draco…” Harry touched him carefully, but he didn’t react. “Don’t be dead, Draco, don’t die on me now.”

“’Arry” the Slytherin said quietly with a hoarse voice and Harry pushed a few strains of hair out of his face. He was bleeding somewhere, since when Harry turned him to his side; there was a pool of blood gushing out. Draco winced and inhaled quickly, but flat.

“What happened?”

Harry took out his wand and cast a spell on Draco, analyzing what had happened to him and whether or not he needed to do something immediately.

The Slytherin coughed and cringed by what Harry assumed was the pure pain from the wounds. “Nothing happened…” He panted and shook his head. “The thing came through the floo” he pointed to the green powder. “I didn’t know what do to and it exploded.”

The analysis appeared and Harry saw that Draco was suffering from quite a few smaller and bigger wounds. He had probably not had the time to defend himself.

“Where’s your wand?” Harry asked looking around.

“They…” Draco coughed fiercely, before trying to get some air, but failing. Yet, he still finished the sentence. “…took it.”

Frowning, Harry pulled Draco into his arms carefully and looked around to see Zil. As if the shadows had understood without him having to say anything, they rushed at him again, leaving him in the dark for a few seconds, before they arrived at Grimmauld Place 12.

“Hermione!”

His friend entered the room quickly and when she saw the state of the Slytherin, she hurried out to grab the medical bag. Harry had had his fair share of operations in the field, he knew he could do this, but he would have liked to have someone else to help him. And Hermione did have quite a steady hand.

When she entered the room again, Draco shook his head and inhaled deeply, though it clearly seemed to hurt him very much. “Ainsworth” he said, before losing consciousness completely.

Harry and Hermione looked at each other quickly, before getting to start on healing Draco and stopping the bleeding. In the middle of their operation, an owl flew into the room, though Ron was in there quickly and took it outside so nothing would happen to Draco’s open wounds.

Luckily, after a few hours of hard work and hoping and praying that Draco would wake up again and pull through, he seemed to relax a little and started to breathe normally again. Harry had been sitting on a chair in the corner, looking at him, hoping that everything was okay.

A few seconds later, an all too familiar person appeared in the room. It was Argui Dawjan himself. He looked at Draco, before turning to Harry, frowning slightly.

“I seem to have lost touch of what happened, so… What happened?” he asked Harry, who sighed.

“Well… we believe Ainsworth is a Neo Death Eater, the shadows told me to go look for Draco and when I arrived there, he was almost dead on the floor.”

It seemed that all of this didn’t match what Death thought was going on, since he looked rather surprised and confused.

Harry frowned. “What did you want to happen on earth? It looks as if this didn’t match your history books.”

“That’s because it doesn’t. In my knowledge of things, the Head Auror never should have disband the Aurors, you would have found a mole in the Aurors and everything was supposed to be over in about two weeks. Nobody else should have been hurt.”

Death looked as if he had learnt for a test in Geography and then gotten a test about the language development in Asia. Utterly confused and surprised and not ready to deal with any of this.

“Why do you think history changed?” Harry asked and looked at Draco, who seemed to have started sleeping deeply and soundly.

Death shook his head. “I don’t know. But whatever it is, it’s not good.”

Harry nodded absentminded. Yes, something seemed to be coming and he felt it as much as Argui Dawjan. It wasn’t good, but huge and scary. Hell, if the personification of Death itself looked as if their children had just died… it was going to be a disaster.

Argui Dawjan sighed. “Let me give you an advice, Harry Potter: You should not be looking into any more Neo Death Eater business.”

Shaking his head, Harry disagreed. “I’m not letting these idiots rule the world again! I’ve defeated Tom Riddle, their _leader_ , before. I can deal with them again.”

“You don’t know what you’re dealing with, Bonum. They have more power than ever!”

Harry got up and opened a secret cabinet in his table, before he looked back at Death. “In that case I think it’s time to tell you that I’ve tasked the shadows with re-starting the Coven of War. They should be able to give me a lot of power as well and I can take them all on.”

Death was quiet for a while, before he nodded. “You have been informing yourself by other means I see. And I have to admit that believed the Coven of War was done by now. However, you seem to have a better handle on things, than I have. I will let you deal with this alone then…”

“Are you mad?” Harry asked, feeling that he had somehow double-crossed Death by learning things by himself.

Argui Dawjan smiled. “Not at all. I’m merely surprised that you seem to have complied with being the Master of Death. Seeing this now, I understand why history changed: You’ve changed and history adjusted itself.”

Harry frowned. “Is… that a good thing?”

“The best, Bonum Harry Potter.”

Death was gone the second Draco opened his eyes, inhaling deeply and jerking up as if he had just seen something bad in his dreams. Harry walked over quickly, sat down on the bed and put a calming hand on his arm.

“It’s okay, Draco. You’re safe!”

The Slytherin looked at him for a long while, before shaking his head. “Nobody is safe anymore. Did you hear that Ainsworth disband the Auror departments?! Who’s going to keep the public safe now?!”

Harry looked him determined into his eyes and nodded once. “We are.”

Suddenly, he remembered that he still had his Ouroboros and he took it out of his pocket. “And in the meantime, I trust you know what this is” he showed him the symbol of eternal life and death. Draco widened his eyes and nodded, clearly unsure of what was going on. “It’s yours, so you’re safe from any other attack.”

Draco hesitantly reached out to touch it and then finally smiled at Harry. “It’s beautiful! Thank you so much.” He kept it between his hands, when he looked at Harry again. “Now, what do you mean by ‘we are keeping the public safe’?”

“How would you like being part of the Golden Trio – or rather Golden Quartet?”


	49. Chapter 49

“This is not going to be easy, guys.”

It was evening and Harry was lying on top of the couch throwing a small paper ball into the air and catching it with one hand again. As he turned to face his best friend, he noticed Hermione leaning over the map of the UK, crossing some things out and marking other stuff. There was also a map of the Ministry next to that on the living room table, though they had ignored it for the better part of half an hour. Ron was scanning the parchment they had used to write all information from the newspapers about Ainsworth on it as well as their personal knowledge.

Once again, the three of them were fighting against the Ministry and Harry had to admit that it didn’t even feel bad. It was as normal as it could be. Somehow, Harry had thought that he had been fighting his whole life. So it felt actually rather natural.

Ron nodded, when he placed the parchment on the couch table and grabbed his coffee mug again. “Yes, it’s not going to be easy, however… We’re in a much better state than we were before.”

Shaking his head, Harry actually had to disagree. He threw the ball in the air again and caught it, before answering. “We have children, Ron. I don’t think that this is a better state than before.”

“No, I don’t’ mean them” Ron smiled weakly. “Harry and I are both trained Aurors, we _know_ shit! Hermione has the trust of basically every high ranking Ministry Official and can use that to gain more information _and_ – we’re the Golden Trio, we can literally do anything we want and be successful.”

Even though their situation was a little difficult, Hermione chuckled softly. “Ron, did you read the history books again? You’re normally not flying that high…”

Harry grinned as he threw the paper ball in the air again and sat up to look at the map where Hermione had crossed out a few places. He leaned over the table, checking the marked spots on the UK map which stated where the supposed headquarters of the Neo Death Eaters could be. Ainsworth had told them to wipe it out and now, it seemed as if he had just wanted any other high ranking Neo Death Eater killed so he could be the only one left.

“Well” Hermione smiled softly. “At least we know that our children will be safe. Arthur doesn’t work anymore and I’m sure they’ll keep their grand children as safe as they can.”

Nodding, Harry kept his eyes locked on the plan as he answered. “That doesn’t mean that they won’t be mad at us. Kay will definitely have my head when we’re done with this shit.”

Ron sat down on the couch again, grabbing the parchment, before he looked up and smirked. “She reminds me a lot of Ginny. To be honest, I’ve never thought Ginny would match the Hufflepuffs.”

Smiling, Harry felt a lot of warm feelings rush his body and he remembered so many happy days with his late wife. “She definitely wasn’t a Hufflepuff, but a strong Gryffindor with an open heart for friends and family. And she had the best Bat-Bogey-Hex I’ve ever seen!”

Hermione and Ron both chuckled at her memory and they finally got up. The sudden sound of the grandfather clock made all of the three not sleeping inhabitants of Grimmauld Place jerk up and Harry sighed.

“Time for bed, I would suggest. We can definitely think better tomorrow.”

Ron rolled his eyes. “If I can sleep now. Ainsworth just destroyed so many lives and killed so many people, I don’t know if I can find peace now.”

“True” Hermione said and smiled weakly. “However, we can at least try.”

Before Harry went to his room, he knocked at the door to Draco’s room. Inside, Draco stood at the window sill, staring down into the streets. When Harry entered, he only quickly turned to look who was joining him.

“What are you doing, Draco?” Harry asked, standing next to him, looking down towards the rainy street. A few people with umbrellas walked by, some had forgotten theirs and hurried through the night.

Draco shook his head. “There’s someone out there. I’m pretty sure they’re watching Grimmauld Place.”

Harry nodded. “Absolutely. It’s either Ainsworth’s idiots or the Neo Death Eaters.”

Frowning, Draco turned to Harry. “How are you so calm when saying this?”

“I just know that we can win. The bad guys never win for long. It was the same with Voldemort. He won quite a lot, but never in the long haul. Remember? He got the giants? The Dementors joined him. His followers went back to him… Didn’t change the outcome. Good will always be stronger than the bad.”

It was quite for a long, while Draco turned back to the street and Harry watched the rain pour down in his window. Only after a few moments, the Slytherin turned to him. “That’s a pretty positive outlook on life.”

Harry nodded. “If you don’t see the positive, you’ll lose hope and faith rather quickly. So stay positive, fight for what you believe in and… win.”

Draco chuckled and shook his head. “Well, then. Let’s win.”

“We’ll talk with Hermione and Ron tomorrow. For now, try and get some rest.”

“Of course, Master of Death.”

Harry huffed and rolled his eyes. “Shut up, Malfoy.”

“Why don’t you make me?” the blond man said quickly jerking his eyebrows, while a soft smirk playing on his lips.

Grinning himself, Harry leaned in and planted a short kiss on Draco’s lips. “Like that?”

Draco widened his eyes and flushed slightly. “I did not think you’d actually do that.”

Harry laughed and held out a long box, he had picked up a few hours ago from Gringott’s. “This is yours. I’ve never thought about it before, but I think right now, you should get your old wand back. Sorry for keeping it for so long.”

Gasping slightly, Draco opened the box and carefully grabbed his original wand. “Thank you so much! I’ve completely forgotten about it!”

“You’re welcome. And again, I really am sorry for forgetting about it.”

Draco smirked and shut Harry up with a kiss as well. Grinning, Harry winked at him. “Get some sleep now, Draco” Harry laughed, when he left the room and climbed up another set of stairs and finally entered his own room.

There, Harry sighed when he fell in his bed, staring up at the ceiling. How long would it take him to fall asleep? With everything going on… it was surely not easy to find rest and sleep.

Yawning, Harry rubbed his eyes and sighed. Looking up into the dark night sky, he suddenly realized that he was in Death’s realm. Wait, had he fallen asleep already? “What the…?”

He sat up and pushed some dirt out of his hair and clothes. “How did that happen?” He shook his head, grinningly. “Nice place, Death.” He said as he got up walked towards the blond man, reading a book.

Death looked up and nodded. “Why thank you, Interposito.”

“Well, since I can now sleep and rest, what am I going to do now? Read some more books?” Harry asked, looking at the books that were scattered around Death.

The Immortal chuckled and closed the book he had been reading, before getting up himself. “Almost. I’m going to teach you how to read any mind you want. I figured this could be quite helpful on your next task of taking on the Head Auror.”

Wow, Death actually was okay with what he had planned? He was even on board with helping him, giving him helpful instructions? That was awesome! Harry nodded. “That is actually very generous of you, Death. I would be incredibly happy about that.”

Death smiled. “Thank you. Here’s how it’s supposed to go.” The blond man made a human appear, though Harry was sure it wasn’t an actual human being, only a simulation. “To read a mind, you have to shut out everything else – at least now. Later, you can read someone’s mind while talking to them, even arguing. So, you shut out everything else and you then link your conscience to the person you want to read the mind of.”

“That sounds complicated.” Harry sighed and tried to find his own conscience.

“It’s only complicated right now. I want you to know how it works in theory, so you can do it in practice as well, even though it will never work as it does here” Death continued to explain.

Frowning, Harry turned to Death. “What do you mean?”

“Well” Death chuckled. “Outside of my realm, if you practiced enough, you don’t have to focus on your own mind anymore, you can simply… _hear_ what they think.”

Harry hummed and turned to the human being, when he closed his eyes, shutting the whole world – realm out and concentrating on the other person. He felt the end of his conscience and huffed, extending it until he hit the other person.

That was it?

 _Eggs, I need eggs, right. So… Wait, the bread is back there. Damn it. Do I just go back? Nah, I’ll get it next time. For now I have bread and…_

Harry opened his eyes, slightly confused. These weren’t his thoughts, right? It felt as if he had been thinking it… But then again, he wasn’t in a supermarket about to buy eggs and bread and what not.

“So?” Death asked and raised his eyebrows.

“Is that an actual human being?” Harry asked and shook his head. “He’s about to buy eggs and decided not to get bread…”

Death chuckled and nodded. “Well done. And no, it’s just a simulation. You can’t actually read minds in the Realm of Death. So, what I would suggest, you do as homework… try to read your friends minds. Since you are friends, it should work easier. And with time you can move to strangers.”

Harry widened his eyes and shook his head. “You want me to read Hermione’s…” a faint whisper from wherever sounded with ‘Granger’. “… and Ron’s mind?” Once again, a whisper basically sounded right next to him with ‘Weasley’.

“Exactly. Try to do it while you’re eating breakfast or whenever it’s not too obvious. Only with practice can you be able and read other people’s minds.”

Before Harry could say something, he was released of Death’s realm and opened his eyes in his bed. That sucked. Did he now really have to read his friend’s minds? That was going to suck…

A look towards the clock told him that it was eight in the morning. He groaned, when he got up and walked to the bath to take a shower. While he showered, he had time to think. Maybe he could tell Hermione what Death had told him… That way he wouldn’t take away her privacy, which he still was going to do. It was better than everything else, Harry decided.

And so, when Harry entered the kitchen, he found Hermione standing there. His luck was amazing. “Morning, ‘Mione.”

His friend turned around and smiled at him. “Hello Harry. How was your night? You look very relaxed.”

Harry yawned and chuckled. “Sorry about that. It was nice. I stayed with Death. He wants me to… to practice reading minds.”

Hermione raised her eyebrows and smirked. “And you have to try it with us first?”

“Yes.” Harry sighed. “I am really sorry about that… But I… I need to practice.”

“Oh no, don’t’ apologize. Try it” Hermione grinned. “I’m known to have a rather strong mind, so I want to know if the immortal Master of Death Harry James Potter can get through it.”

Harry laughed. “You are a mess, ‘Mione, but okay.”

He sat down, taking a cup of coffee and looked for the ending of his conscience. It was a thin line ending shortly before his friend and when Harry found it, he leaned forward onto the table, concentrating on latching it onto Hermione’s mind. It took a little bit until Harry was sure he had reached her.

However, suddenly, he was hearing Hermione _in his head_. He had definitely succeeded.

 _Mind is stable, I hid everything…_ a flash of Hermione training to secure her thoughts flashed in front of Harry and he grinned. _How much power does he have? Wait, maybe it’s not enough…_

“It is not enough, ‘Mione” Harry smirked, when he leaned back and taking a sip of his cup. “But I adore little Hermione practicing to seal her mind.”

Hermione blushed and rolled her eyes, turning back to breakfast. “Try the next person who comes in here! I want to know if you can do it as well.”

Harry chuckled and grabbed the newspaper, looking at it. There was nothing interesting in there. The public was informed that the Ministry had ended the DMLE and that from now on the Ministry employed security guards would take over what the Aurors had been doing so far. Harry shook his head. These people were completely in over their heads. The Security guards were only for problems inside the Ministry. Crime was definitely going to increase now. Suddenly, he heard someone else walking into the kitchen.

Looking up, it was Draco. Hermione shot Harry a look and he rolled his eyes. Draco smirked, when he grabbed some coffee as well, sitting down, next to Hermione who was drinking her coffee as well. “What’s going on here?”

Harry placed the news article in front of him. “The Ministry’s just made it official with the Aurors.”

Draco huffed and shook his head, while Harry leaned back, once again finding the end of his own being. He found it even faster now. Practice really was making some differences. Concentrating, he connected his mind with Draco’s.

 _The Ministry’s being stupid. Without Aurors theirs whole organization will be destroyed and…_ Draco frowned looking up at Harry and raising his eyebrows. _Harry get out of my mind. I know you’re reading it._

“Ugh, sorry, Draco” Harry grinned and leaned back, taking another sip of his coffee. “Hermione made me read another person’s mind.”

Draco chuckled and shook his head. “Not bad, I have to say. It was a little obvious that someone was in my head. Other than that” he winked at him.

“How did you know someone was reading your mind?” Harry asked and looked at Hermione. Had she known as well?

His friend seemed to have known what he wanted to ask and she shrugged her shoulders. “I haven’t noticed anyone.”

Draco turned to her and smiled. “Yes, well, I’ve had people in my mind ever since I was a teenager. So I know what it feels like. As I’ve said, if I didn’t know when someone’s looking into my memories and stuff like that, I would have definitely not realized it.” He turned back to Harry and smiled. “Keep practicing. I’m sure it would be amazing for you to sneak around in Ainsworth’s mind and find the truth.”


	50. Chapter 50

Harry kept practicing all morning long. Hermione, Ron and Draco had started a rule, where he had to go into their minds whenever he was entering a room and one of them was in there. And if someone was entering the room, he had to do the same again.

Additionally, Draco wanted him to be as sneaky as he could. While Hermione and Ron just asked Harry to repeat the last things they had thought, Draco told him if he had noticed him or not. It was very hard and Harry was dead tired by lunch, gladly accepting the coffee Hermione had once again expertly brewed.

Draco walked into the kitchen and Harry groaned, almost without effort, extending his mind to latch onto the Slytherin’s, while he took a big gulp of the coffee in front of him.

_Ainsworth must have a crazy plan; we’ve been fighting the Neo Death Eaters for over two years by now. Why hadn’t he eliminated the Aurors earlier?_

Harry placed his head on his arms and sighed. “Maybe because we’ve finally gotten close?”

“What?” two voices said and Harry looked up to find Hermione and Draco frowning at him.

Draco suddenly widened is eyes. “Wait… you were in my mind?”

Smirking weakly, Harry shrugged his shoulders. “As per your rule I’m supposed to enter everyone’s mind entering the room, did you forget?”

“I didn’t even feel your presence.”

Harry stared at Draco, who in turn stared back at him, Hermione looking from one to the other. “This is good news, right?”

Draco smirked and nodded, clearly impressed. “Absolutely!” He placed the map Hermione had been working on the other day on the kitchen table and motioned Hermione to look at it. “I’ve seen this thing. These are all the old Undercover Sites.” He placed his finger on the red marks that they had there.

Hermione nodded. “Yes, you’ve been there. And they were all destroyed. Nothing’s stayed back.”

“No, that’s not what I’m talking about.” Draco shook his head. “We knew about all of these for about a year now. The only two exceptions being the trap in Cambridge and the one village, where Harry’s Death sense brought us. All of these” he circled the crosses with his hand over the map, “are old Neo Death Eater Quarters.”

Harry frowned at it and Hermione widened her eyes, nodding. “You’re right.” She chewed on her lower lip and looked at it closer.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Harry found someone entering the room and he out of routine, extended his own self, attaching his mind with the other person there. He didn’t even look up from the map or from what Hermione and Draco were trying to figure out.

_I cannot believe this shit is going down. Bloody hell, what if we do die during one of a Neo Death Eater attack?!_

“Ron, get over it” Harry sighed and got up, suddenly. He placed his finger on the house he and Draco had looked at right after Ron had gone on holiday. “Ainsworth is raiding places that have been in the newspaper!”

“What?” Hermione looked up and Harry walked over to the thousands of newspapers he had stacked in the corner of the kitchen. Checking for the date, he quickly tore out the correct one. There, right under the big news of a new defense shop being opened in Diagon Alley, a short article was written.

> **Neo Death Eaters found in London**
> 
> As of this morning, it is suspected that ten or more Neo Death Eaters have found a place to stay in London. Please do not leave the houses in and around London after dark and keep your children in constant views.
> 
> The wizards and witched who have chosen to follow Tom Riddle’s visions of a better place to live for purebloods have been spotted around Muggle London. It is still unknown who leads them on and the Ministry hasn’t been able to confirm anything.
> 
> Aurors have been unable to break through the NDE’s defenses and it seems as if a new era of terror us upon us. As soon as the situation is cleared, we will be giving you an update. Stay safe.

“Aurors are unable to break through the NDE’s defenses?” Hermione read aloud and shook her head. “Unbelievable! And here I was thinking Ainsworth was a good man.”

Harry felt someone standing in the door and automatically read their mind, whoever it would be. _He's absolutely not!_ Frowning slighty, he looked up just as someone was about to say these exact words. Well, almost.

“He’s not.”

Everyone turned to look at the door, where next to Ron, someone else stood. Seamus had his arms crossed over his chest. He had been the one to say that.

“He’s been asking me to change Harry’s appearance to something easily detected.” He huffed and shook his head. “I’m not going to let Harry die. So, I haven’t listened to him in… well, ever. That’s why Dean did it. He didn’t talk back.”

Harry heard a few children running around the living room. Seamus sighed. “We want in.”

“In what?” Harry asked and received a dirty look from his friend.

“Whatever you’re planning. You guys are going against the Ministry, aren’t you?” Seamus asked and nodded. “We’re in. You need eyes inside and Dean and I can provide that.”

Hermione smiled and nodded. “And your children?”

“It’s not going to be easy, guys” Harry said, getting up as well. “We’re basically fighting against the people who have the right to kill all of us. Legally.”

“Yes, well, I have the right to defend what I believe in. And if they… do that, I’ve died for a good cause at least.” Seamus seemed dead set. Harry took in the other’s light and found absolutely no Glow of Death around him. 

Harry nodded, when Seamus turned back to Hermione. “As for the children, I was hoping we could do a group holiday? William and Rachel are old enough to enjoy Christmas with their friends. Summer just enjoys being with her siblings.”

Hermione nodded, walking out to the living room and greeting Dean and the children as well. Meanwhile, Harry beckoned his friend closer. They quickly told him and Ron what they had found out until now and in the middle of their unofficial briefing, Dean walked in as well and listened to what they had to say as well.

“Ainsworth is planning something” Dean finally said. “He’s been around us for quite a while. And I don’t know why we’re still employed when all the Aurors are gone.”

“We’ve already decided that Dean transforms me into Seamus and I’ll go with him to the Ministry.” Ron stood straight and looked at the others. “They have a meeting today for all the left over departments.”

Harry shot up and widened his eyes. “I’ll go as well!”

Draco shook his head. “You have other things to work on. Besides, we need to go through all the newspapers and find something that matches all the Neo Death Eater places. Maybe there’s something else going on here.”

Seamus smirked. “Malfoy’s a better active Auror than you, Harry?!”

Ron grinned and Harry rolled his eyes. Dean and Ron left the kitchen and Harry made something quick to eat for Seamus and Draco. Hopefully, Ron would find something in the Ministry. By the time Hermione had appeared again, everyone in the kitchen had already gone through most of newspapers and found the articles. It was clear: Something bad was going on in the Ministry.


	51. Chapter 51

Dean and Seamus had left to go home late after midnight, after Ron and Dean had come back and informed them that Ainsworth was going to reform the whole Ministry. When Draco had wanted to go and ask around, Dean had informed him that Ainsworth had told everyone that he had died. Draco Malfoy was apparently dead?

And well, Harry would have been much happier to keep Dean and Seamus in Grimmauld Place 12, but it would be rather suspicious to the people watching Grimmauld Place 12, if there were even more people living there out of a sudden, right?

Nevertheless, that didn’t stop a certain redheaded Weasley to come by the next afternoon. While Harry sat on the floor, trying to outdo himself and latch his mind to anybody in the house, he suddenly found himself having a voice in his mind that he didn’t anticipate.

_Why is he sitting on the floor? Where’s everyone else? Are you dead?!_

Harry smirked and opened his eyes to find George standing by his floo. “Hello George. Good to see that the floo network thing works how I intended it to.”

George frowned and raised his eyebrows. “And how did you intend it?”

“Draco changed it so that only people from approved places can floo here. I don’t want anybody from the Ministry here and well, I still want our children to have the possibility of visiting us, should anything happen.”

“You’re building another Headquarters of some sort, are you?” George chuckled and looked around, though nothing was visibly different.

Getting up, Harry nodded and cleaned some dust off his clothes, which had definitely happened due to George floo’ing here. Before Harry even had a change to ask what his brother-in-law was doing here, said man already started talking.

“Harry, if you’re re-starting Dumbledore’s Army, I want to at least be part of the revolution!”

Frowning, Harry tilted his head slightly. “Dumbledore’s…” What a brilliant idea! They could go out and ask everyone who wants to join them in fighting the Ministry and the uprising of the neo Death Eaters. “Good idea, George. Come along.”

He beckoned George to follow him and they climbed up the stairs until they stood in a room Harry had always locked. It was now their meeting and planning room – it had been the room for all his past memories. But they really needed to have a secret hideout just in case Ainsworth was coming by. Leaving maps and newspaper articles all over the kitchen table wasn’t probably the best thing to do.

“Why were you in the middle of the living room, sitting on the floor?” George asked, before they reached the door.

Harry shrugged his shoulders. “I’m was thinking and trying to figure out how to break through powerful… walls.”

George nodded and Harry smiled at him, knocking on the door and opening it quickly. Inside, Hermione had placed an extension charm on it. There were about three tables next to each other, one already filled with the map and the news clippings. On the next table lay another map with question marks on it and on the third, Hermione and Ron were trying to figure out something. At the opposite wall of where Harry stood, where about twelve chairs and in one of them sat Draco scanning through a book.

“Guys, George here had an idea!” Harry said without an actual greeting.

Everyone looked up and George frowned slightly. “Not really, I only said that should you fight the Ministry, I’d like to be part of that.”

Harry shook his head. “That’s not what I’m talking about. You said if I were to re-start Dumbledore’s Army you want to be part of it.”

It was quiet, though only for a second, until Hermione jumped up. “Dumbledore’s Army! We trained for so long with you, Harry! We can do that again, work from our own jobs and find a plan to get the rest of the Neo Death Eaters!”

“Wait, so we want to recruit three dozen people? How many people would even want to be part of fighting again?” George frowned and Draco nodded as if he wanted to show he thought the same as the redhead.

Harry shook his head. “No, we’re not taking everyone. We’re only asking the people we trust. Neville – I’m sure he’d come. Lee Jordan, he’s also probably interested in fighting the law again?”

George chuckled. “If you say it like that, I’m sure he’ll follow you in a heartbeat.”

“Harry, how can we tell them about it?” Hermione narrowed her eyes in thought. “We can’t really send everyone a letter telling them that we’ll re-start the DA. Besides, the coins probably don’t work anymore. Almost everyone has one by now and they probably don’t have them with them all the time.”

“Leave that up to me!” George said and he grinned. “I’ll go get the best people from Dumbledore’s Army.”

Ron smirked. “No, George, get people we can trust!”

When he wanted to leave the room, Harry held him back. “Tell them, they don’t have to follow you around immediately. We’re having a DA meeting tomorrow morning. We’ll hide it as a friends’ gathering for some brunch.”

George nodded and he left. Meanwhile, Draco turned to Harry. “Have you been able to link to any of us from down there?”

“Nope” Harry sighed. When he saw the amused expression on Draco’s face, he rolled his eyes. “And apparently, I’ll go and continue trying.”

“Thanks Harry” Hermione chuckled. “We’ll update you by dinner time.”

Ron snorted. “If you smell something burning, you’ll know.”

Harry laughed and left the room again, hearing Ron calling out, probably because Hermione had either punched him or sent him a stinging hex. Or maybe she had said something back to him. It wasn’t usually Hermione who burnt food, but Ron.

Once dinner rolled around, Harry had only faintly reached Hermione’s mind, but apart from some words, he hadn’t really gotten to read or hear anything. While they ate, Hermione told him that she was sure the actual Headquarters of the Neo Death Eaters was in Scotland. They weren’t sure whether or not Ainsworth actually was the leader of if he just wanted to get some other leaders to disappear, so he could take up the mantle.

In the end, they decided to take a free evening and Harry was so tired, he just went to bed, falling asleep almost immediately. However, if he had hoped for some peace and quiet… he didn’t get it.

He woke up in the Realm of Death. Sighing, Harry sat up and brushed some dirt and ashes from his clothes. “Hello, hello, Death. I haven’t seen you in my home for a few days, now.” Harry smirked and greeted the blond man.

“Well” Death smirked. “I haven’t had the need to pop up and tell you what kind of a bad job you’re doing. I am in all honesty, rather surprised that you have taken your practice time so serious. Usually, I need to somehow frighten you into doing something.”

Harry rolled his eyes. “It’s all Hermione. She’s always been good at knowing how to study to get the perfect result.”

Death laughed and nodded. “Oh, I know this is Hermione Granger’s doing. Let me see how far you’ve come in these two days.”

Once again, a human being appeared in the Realm of Death and Harry frowned slightly. Without any problems, he made the connection and was inside the other ‘human’s mind’.

_Is it ‘sincerely yours’ or can I write ‘best wishes’? Which is it? How well do I know her?_

Harry snorted and rolled his eyes “What kind of simulations do you have here, Death? These are weird.”

Death chuckled. “Humans are weird creatures, Interposito. These are just examples of what people were thinking.”

“Of course.” Harry grinned.

“You are doing very well, Interposito. If you can read other people’s minds outside of your friends group and outside of this real, you will have passed anther stage.”

Harry frowned. “Somehow I think there are some differences between difficulties in these stages.”

Death shrugged his shoulders. “You’re just better and quicker in learning how to read minds. Usually, it takes a person about two weeks to only figure out how to do it correctly. And you’re currently trying to master to read a person’s mind somewhere in your home. That is rather advanced mind reading.”

“Thanks.”


	52. Chapter 52

Their brunch gathering had gotten quite the interest. Next to everyone who had already said they were interested in the first place, there were also a good few people around who George had clearly talked to.

He had brought Lee Jordan over, as well as Angelina Johnson. Neville and Hannah stood in a group with Susan Bones, and Cho Chang and Katie Bells were walking with George about something probably Quidditch related. And that only left Luna Lovegood who sat at the table, seemingly content to be there with all of them.

“So, how do we do this?” Draco asked, sitting on the armrest of a wooden chair and frowning at Harry.

Sighing, Harry shrugged his shoulders. “I have no idea. I just know that we need to let people stay where they are. Especially if they’re useful in their positions.”

Hermione walked closer and stopped next to Draco. She nodded and looked around the room. “Which makes me an undercover agent, since I have a little bit of insight from where I am in the Ministry. I would suggest keeping Susan, Dean and Seamus as undercover agents as well.”

“Definitely.” Harry nodded.

Draco seemed to understand what they were strategizing and looked at Neville. “The Leaky is very often visited by all kinds of Ministry Security personnel. I’m sure if we ask Neville to be an undercover agent, he’d be one as well. They’ll always talk about everything there.”

Harry motioned towards Katie. “Katie is in a rather small higher level group thing. I forgot what it’s called, but there are a lot of Ministry employees as well in there. She could be one of the undercover agents as well.”

“Okay, so since we have these people now, what else are we going to do?” Draco turned back to Harry.

“Well, I think we should separate the group into three areas” Harry explained. He had spent all night working on this plan, though he had also wanted the other’s input. So talking now, while the former D.A. members were talking as well, seemed to be a good idea. “We have the undercover agents, people with statuses and jobs that give them a unique approach to some information. Then we have information gatherers, generally. So, if we suspect someone, we can send one of them out and they’ll track someone, so it’s not suspicious for the undercover agents. And they will generally look for all kinds of things and stuff like that. And third, we have the planners.”

Hermione frowned. “Planners? And what will they be planning?”

“How to take Ainsworth down. Along with the best fighting options and personnel, “Harry explained. “They’re somewhat the people uniting the Information gatherers and the undercover agents.”

“Actually, that could work.” Hermione rubbed her neck and nodded then, while Ron agreed and even Draco seemed okay with this plan.

Harry smiled at them and turned to everyone else. Nodding, he greeted everyone quickly, explained why they were here and what he had worked out for their DA. In addition, he also told them that if they didn’t want to fight in this invisible war, he wouldn’t be mad if they went home again.

Nobody left and Harry thanked them all.

“So, here’s the deal: Undercover agents – people staying in their jobs and reporting things – are Susan, Katie, Dean, Seamus, Hermione and Neville. The Information Gatherers would be Luna, Lee, George, Cho and Ron. The Planners for this project would be Hannah, Draco and Angelina.”

Cho frowned. “And Hermione is an Undercover Agent? Don’t you think Planner would be better?”

Harry turned to look at Hermione and raised his eyebrows. “You can choose, honestly.”

Smirking, Hermione nodded. “I would love to plan all kinds of crazy shit against the Ministry and Ainsworth!”

George laughed and shook his head. “You are amazing! And Harry, I think your plan could work!”

People agreed and Harry smirked, shaking his head now as well. Maybe they actually had a chance in ridding the Wizarding World of Neo Death Eaters. Who knew? Nevertheless, George was a little too optimistic.

“Well, does anybody else want to change their role?” Harry asked the rest. Everyone seemed to be fine with what they had been chosen to do. In the end, they all chose a place in Grimmauld Place for their own meeting space and Harry was happy with how it came out.

They all had the possibility to go home and work from there, so that the Ministry wouldn’t get too skeptical, however, the most work would be done with each other in Grimmauld Place. In fact, Neville, George and Susan had decided to move in here and stay as back-up.

And so, everyone started working on what they needed, or planning on how to take down Ainsworth and his crew. It just so happened that two days after they’d had their meeting, an official Ministry owl flew into Grimmauld Place, through the strong wards and placed a letter in front of Harry, before heading out again.

On the kitchen table next to Harry sat Neville, Draco and Hermione. While Harry frowned at the Ministry letter, Draco had already performed a spell to check if there was something weird on it.

“It got through the wards, there shouldn’t be anything harmful inside” Hermione said and frowned as well.

Harry sighed and grabbed the letter. “That’s the problem, ‘Mione. It’s the Ministry. There could be anything in there. Just because it went through my wards, doesn’t mean it isn’t harmful. They could have invented something new.”

Opening the small letter, he found a short message from… Ainsworth! He read through it and looked at his friends. “I have an official meeting with Ainsworth in two hours.”

“Don’t go!” Neville shook his head.

“I have to!” Harry sighed. “It’s the only way I can find out something more.”

Hermione nodded weakly. “We’ve only got a few random bits of information. Nothing is really ground-breaking. Maybe you could read what he has in mind, you know.”

She was clearly badly referencing that Harry should read his mind, which he had wanted to do either way. Draco snorted as if he thought she was giving her hints a little too on the nose. Which they were. However, with Neville present and him not knowing about Harry’s fate, it was probably the best route to go.

“Alright, so I’m going to his meeting.” Harry shrugged his shoulders.

Frowning at him, Draco nodded. “You do need to train a little more before you go, mate. Let’s go.”

“Practice for what?!” Neville called after them, while Ron passed them in the staircase. He narrowed his eyes, while Harry laughed.

“Hermione will explain, Ron. I’ll see you later.”

*

The Ministry had changed very much. It was much emptier and the walk to Ainsworth’s office was almost silent. At least that gave Harry a little bit more time to go over his strategies: First was to get Ainsworth to confirm that he was in fact a Neo Death Eater. Well, not that clearly, but… at least imply it. Second was to read his mind and hopefully find something that could tell Harry and Dumbledore’s Army what was going on and where they could possibly find their fucking leader. They had searched for years for them, but nobody had ever come close. At least now – with the idea of Ainsworth being a Neo Death Eater – it was clearer as to why they never had that chance.

Knocking on Ainsworth’s door, it opened immediately and Harry found his former boss sitting at his desk, putting a few folders away.

“Mister Potter, how nice to see you again!”

Harry bit back a sarcastic comment and nodded, politely. “Likewise, Ainsworth. You wanted to see me today?”

Ainsworth chuckled. “I did.” He beckoned Harry to walk closer and after closing the door, he sat down in a chair on the opposite side of the desk.

They were quiet for a good few minutes, while Harry tried to ignore his nervousness and calm himself more so he was able to read his former bosses mind. It had worked so well while he had trained with Draco, but right now, he was just slightly scared that he might be found out.

“Well” Ainsworth started and smirked, “I wanted to talk to you about a job offer. I know it was not really a good idea to have you fired from the Ministry, so…”

Harry frowned. He clearly didn’t want to employ him. Maybe Kingsley had talked to Ainsworth and told him to get the ‘oh so holy Savior’ back. “You want the Golden Boy back his old job?” Harry finished his sentence. He sat up straight and raised his eyebrows. “If you want to do this, I have a few things I want you to do: First…” _I need you to admit you’re a Neo Death Eater_ , Harry cleared his throat, clearly not saying that. “First, I want to be in charge of my own actions. If there is a crime happening, I want to have the best people in my unit to help me investigate. And I want to choose these people on my own. Most Ministry Guards are too scared of me, because I am the Savior.”

Ainsworth rolled his eyes, clearly unhappy with what was going on. “I might be able to do that” he relented. “Anything else?”

“Ron needs his job back as well.”

This was apparently not the correct thing to ask for. Ainsworth frowned and shook his head once. Harry bit back a smirk; if he was about to get angry, it was easier to access his mind. In fact, maybe he should start trying to read it.

“I will not give him his job back so he can report everything that’s happening to his boss. Mr. Weasley should really take a couple of weeks off and start repairing his own family.”

What boss? Ron’s only boss had been Ainsworth. Did this idiot just imply that he thought Ron was a Neo Death Eater? Well, luckily, he hadn’t told Ainsworth yet that Draco was still alive. Harry raised his eyebrows and shook his head. “He’s excellent at his job and with his help we could find the Neo Death Eater rather fast.”

Ainsworth shook his head. “I disagree.”

There was no getting through Ainsworth mind. Something else had to be done. Maybe if Harry could somehow get him to talk about the Neo Death Eaters, it was a way to get through? It was at least worth a try.

“Fine. How are you planning on getting these criminals, now?”

“Criminals?” Ainsworth raised his eyebrows and after a very long and tense two seconds, he seemed to realize what Harry was talking about. “Oh, you’re talking about the De… Neo Death Eaters?”

Harry nodded and raised his eyebrows. “I am. You don’t have any trained wizards around. How will you get them imprisoned?” He felt the edge of his physical being and went to look further to the edge of his aura, until he finally found it.

“I will do anything in my power.”

“I see.” Harry tapped into Ainsworth’s mind and actually successfully managed to do so on the first try.

_He’s not believing me! I need to give more examples!_

Frowning slightly, Harry continued: “You know, if you had started an Auror task force specifically for the purpose of destroying the Neo Death Eaters, we could have helped.” Well, they should have realized it long ago, actually. The fact that Ainsworth hadn’t done such a Task Force only intensified his status of being a mole himself.

_This fucking idiot! Who do you think you are? People look up at you? So fuck you!_

While Ainsworth talked, Harry kept his expression straight, as if he hadn’t just heard his former boss swearing at him, since… it was in his head. “The Aurors were no longer to be trusted, Mr. Potter. Garrick turned out to be a mole and I heard others were interested in working for criminals as well.”

“Sir, these are the undercover agents. We needed them for information.” Harry shook his head and once again found Ainsworth thinking something.

_They found too much is the problem! I want to be their boss and I cannot do that if these idiots find my underlings._

“They were speaking out to be on the bad side. I needed to surround myself with people I could trust.”

Harry shook his head. Not only for what he had heard inside Ainsworth’s head, but also for what he was saying. “The Ministry Security Guards don’t have an appropriate education to fight either normal criminals or Neo Death Eaters!”

_That’s the plan._

“They are more than qualified to do so.”

“With all due respect, sir” Harry narrowed his eyes at his former boss, “to me it looks like you’re leveling down the security so shady business could take place in the Ministry.” That was probably a little bit too much on the nose. But it was necessary.

Ainsworth got up and shook his head. He threw his hands on his table and tried to stare down Harry. Not that he would have been intimidated by this idiot. “How dare you! Nobody has ever been so disrespectful towards me! I want you gone. Now! I thought we could work well together, but it appears as if I was wrong.”

_It’s probably best to have you gone! He’ll take away my job here and my identity with the Death Eaters. Only a few steps until I can be the most powerful person in England._


	53. Chapter 53

After Harry had informed his friends that Ainsworth was probably trying to get the best of both worlds, he went straight to bed. It had been an eventful evening and he was dead tired from reading such a difficult to understand mind.

Sadly, if Harry had wanted to enjoy a dream and an eventless sleep… it wasn’t the case. Harry woke up in Death’s realm and sighed. He sat up, clearing the dust from his hair and clothes, before he felt a familiar calm presence enter his body. This place still had the same old magic.

“Welcome back, Interposito. You did very well today.”

Harry frowned. “I did? Okay…”

Death stood up from where he was sitting and walked closer. “You did! And so, since you’re already successfully communicate with the shadows; you have finished this level already. For now you are a Bonum. Being a Bonum requires you to read every mind and talk to shadows.”

“Well, that was easy!”

Laughing, Death shook his head. “Communicating with shadows is usually much more complicated, since they do have their own mind. They haven’t accepted anyone in the last two hundred years of me trying to get someone else as Master of Death.”

Harry frowned at his teacher. “So, it is a possibility? Stepping down from being Master of Death?”

“Yes.” Death nodded. “You’ll gain the information for your own person over time. It’s different for every Master. My time has come three hundred years ago, but I haven’t seen anyone worthy to take over in the first hundred years and then... the shadows.” He rolled his eyes, which made Harry chuckle.

“So what else is there to learn?” Harry asked, sitting down on a rock, overlooking the entire realm of Death.

Death frowned a little. “You’re suddenly so eager, Bonum?”

Harry shrugged his shoulders. “Well, I think I’ve finally started to accept my fate. There’s nothing I can change and maybe I can learn even more now.”

Nodding, Death chuckled. “Alright. There are only two levels left. The next one requires you to deal with Immortals, however you choose to. I have decided to ignore them. As Master of Death, you don’t need them. My predecessor used to keep them around himself as his friends. So it’s really up to you. Additionally, you need to have so much control over your Death Magic can you can have a crowd of people and choose only one person to die and only get them, not everyone” he looked at Harry, and both knew what he was referencing. “And the last point is to wisely choose who will die and who will live.”

“So that’s the one level?” Harry sighed. This one seemed to be rather hard again. “And what’s the last one?”

“Bonum, there are still things I can’t tell you about. The last level can’t be shown to you until you are ready to be the Master of Death.” With that, Death handed Harry a book. “Read a little bit more about Immortals. It will help you dealing with them, I’m sure.”

Sighing again, Harry accepted it. Death was right; reading about these people was surely giving him a lot of information which he could look into, whenever there was an Immortal around.

*

Harry woke up with a jolt and shook his head. In his hand was another medallion of a snake biting its own tail. Oh right, he had passed another level, so he had gotten another Ouroboros. Falling back into the bed, he stared at the ceiling.

Outside, it was dark and only the moon shone. Harry sat up again and cast a tempus charm. It was in the middle of the night. Something was off. Not bad off, but… weirdly off.

He got up and walked down to the kitchen, making himself tea. He wrote a little note to Ron, deciding to give him the safety of not dying. Hermione needed him and their children needed him as well. Maybe soon, he could protect his other children as well. Ron should get the Ouroboros.

When he sat down on the table, he saw a shadow in the dark moving without a body attached to it. Turning his head, he found Zil looking at him.

“Hey, what’s going on, Zil?”

**We have established the Coven of War again. If you want to see it, there’s a small meeting taking place right now in London.**

Harry snorted and shook his head. “I don’t believe it’s a coincidence that it’s taking place in London, now, is it?”

Zil shook his head. **It’s important for them to know that Death is standing behind them. Most of them do not believe in you anymore. If you make a personal visit, they will lose their skepticism.**

Harry frowned and nodded. “True. However, I do not know what to say or how to welcome them correctly. Or even what I should wear. I’m not really known to be fashionable.”

**That black hoodie is perfect, keep your identity hidden until someone wants to know yours. It’s much more effective. And don’t worry: I’ll be there as well. Sadly, I can’t teleport you there; you need to go in through the front. We’ll lead you.**

Sighing, Harry got up. He was already wearing the black hoodie, so there was no problem there. He downed his tea and got to the front door, grabbing his shoes. When he looked outside the small window, he heard a creaking behind him, but since he just saw a few Ministry Security Guards standing outside at the same time, he swore and didn’t think more of it. He grabbed his wand and stopped dead in his tracks. It would probably be much more effective, to have the Elder Wand with him.

So, he walked back into his office, opening the small safe and took out his wand, before closing it again. “Let’s do this!”

He quietly cast an invisibility spell over himself that would make him invisible for his enemies for half an hour. Going home, he should be able to just apparate into his living room.

Walking out of his front door, he found that none of the four Ministry Security Guards had seen him and he followed Zil through a few back streets and other smaller ways. They ended up in a part of London he had never seen. It looked like an urban town, but seemed to be in the middle of London.

“Where are we?” Harry asked quietly.

Zil appeared in the middle of the street, turning back to Harry. **We’re in the middle of Monster London. Here, the werewolves, vampires, some Immortals and Veelas live in peace. Only people who have been here once before could find it. And of course, us shadows. We know all the secret places.**

Harry widened his eyes and decided never to go back here. A place where werewolves were roaming the street?! In the middle of London? And vampires were real? Holy shit!

While Harry was having his scary thoughts of someone like that following him home, Zil walked towards a small yellow home and told Harry to knock on the door four times quickly and once again twice long. He did so and it only took about three seconds, until the door was opened.

“Who are you?” the man in the shadows said. Nobody could see his face and Harry assumed it was because he was not really feeling all that happy with the neighborhood. It could have been other things, of course.

Harry, who still had his hood over his head, looked at Zil who said what he should be saying. **Death is standing by thy doth'r and endues thee nothing but life.**

Biting back a comment over how stupid it was that whatever sentence he was about to say was still in this old English, he managed to get through it without stumbling over the words: “Death is standing by thy doth'r and endues thee nothing but life.”

The man in the door froze and after a few silent seconds, he walked out of the shadow and bowed slightly. “My family has been a close follower of you and we have kept all the traditions alive over centuries. I have never believed to meet you in person.”

Harry was slightly overwhelmed with what was going on and he turned to Zil. _Am I allowed to ask for his name?_

Zil laughed. **You’re the future Master of Death. This is your coven, you can ask them to do literally anything.**

“What’s your name?” Harry asked and smiled weakly.

The man looked at Harry with wide eyes, before he seemed to realize that he had asked a question. “John. Allerton. Um, John Allerton, Master.”

Harry nodded, ignoring John Allerton calling him Master. “Thank you. Can I come in? I assume there’s a meeting taking place here?”

“There is, yes. Please, follow me!” John Allerton led Harry to a door leading to the cellar and they both walked down there. Under the house was a small cellar, well, it wasn’t that small. However, there were so many people in there, that there had been no space for anybody to sit down. Even though the size of the cellar matched the size of the house, everyone was standing.

And when Harry and John Allerton walked in, each and every head turned into their direction. The Coven of War! There were wizards and witches in there in all ages and it surprised Harry immensely. One wizard who had a seat at the front, seemed to be about one hundred years old, while there were two witches in here who didn’t look a day over twenty.

“Who’s that?” a woman close to the door asked and frowned at Harry.

Before Harry could even say a word, John was already talking: “It’s the Master of Death!”

“Yeah right!” the woman said and chuckled, while she rolled her eyes.

Harry frowned at her. For some reason, he suddenly had the uncontrollable urge to do something to her. She didn’t belong into his space of followers. She was just here because she was afraid she could die.

 **Do it!** , Zil said and nodded.

 _I can’t control it yet. I don’t want to kill everyone in here._ Harry looked around and was surprised by how many either confused or frustrated faces he saw turning to the woman laughing about Harry.

**We’ll protect the rest.**

Harry nodded, tilted his head and let his magic burst slightly. It didn’t reach that far and was much more concentrated, which made him slightly happy. The woman suddenly stopped laughing, tried to get some air and turned around to look at Harry.

“How could you…” she collapsed on the floor.

Sighing, Harry crouched down next to her. She was still trying to get some air. “You are not here because you believe in me. You’re scared to die, which is why you’re here. Don’t worry, once you’ll stop trying to fight it, it’ll be as easy as falling asleep.”

She closed her eyes and Harry got up again. He turned to the rest, still hiding his personality, even though people could recognize his voice. “I hope you all are here, because you want to follow me. If you’re not, I will give you the chance to leave right now. I promise not to harm you now.”

Two wizards in Harry’s age got through the crowd and almost ran up the stairs, clearly unhappy with what had happened. While they passed Harry, he put a spell on them which would stop them from talking about what they had seen today. If they tried, they would get muted for short amount of time. However, if they wanted to continuously talk about it, the duration would get longer and longer.

Harry stopped for a second, wondering how much he had changed, before he pushed these thoughts out of his mind. It didn't do well, standing in front of the people wanting to see the Master of Death, if he was unsure of what he had done. He could question if it was the right thing later tnoght, if he needed to.

“Well then” Harry took down his hood and saw a few surprised faces. Who would have thought that the Master of Death was Harry Potter? “As Master of Death I hereby promise to keep your families safe from any harm intentionally brought towards them. And I promise to find whoever wants to harm you until their dying day.” He walked to the front, turning to the rest again. “Show me your loyalty and I’ll promise you mine, for as long as I am Master of Death” he followed his instincts and drew an infinity symbol into the air, which turned to fire and changed its form into a snake biting its own tail.

The wizard at the front turned to look at Harry and nodded. “The last time the shadows had gotten all of us together, I was but a small child. That person did not have any idea of how to work with Death Magic. You are the real Master of Death.” He got up and held out his hand. “Joshua Galbraith. It will be my honor to be on your side, Overseer.”

Harry shook it and nodded, feeling deeply honored that this man had basically just called him the actual Master of Death. The other people inside also gave their names and life and after about twenty minutes, Harry’s head was about to explode with all the different names he had heard over the course of the last few minutes.

His rescue came with John, turning back to him and effectively silencing everyone else in this room. “So what’s our plan? Why have you restarted the Coven of War again?”

That was a good question. Harry nodded. “Well, for now I just wanted to find out who my friends would be.” Before Harry could start thinking of something, Joshua Galbraith started talking.

His voice was something of a thunder breaking the entire sky in two pieces. “The Coven has never really been there to plan something for the Master of Death. We’re a concept, helping our families to live in peace. If our Overseer has an order for us, we’ll do it. Otherwise, we’ll just keep our traditions alive.”

John nodded and Harry frowned slightly. “Well, I would like to change this a little. In my opinion, it’s nice to know all of you a little better. For now, I just wanted to see where you’re meeting and get to see all of you. Maybe in the future, I actually have a plan for you” he smiled at John.

Joshua chuckled and seemed to accept that Harry was another kind of Master of Death.

Harry nodded. “I must be going, now. Don’t worry, you’ll all be safe” he said and followed John up the stairs again.

**Well done, Bonum! You’ll be a great Master of Death!**

They silently walked back through the side allies and blacked out streets, until Harry finally heard the first car again. He hadn’t even realized that he had been holding his breath for such a long time. Just when they turned back to the normal looking streets, he felt someone else behind him and turned to see Draco. And Neville.

“Ah shit.” Harry lowered his voice and smiled weakly. “Hey Draco. Neville.”

Draco grinned, clearly impressed while Neville stared at him as if he was a ghost. “I’ve had no idea you’re the Master of Death?!”

“Well, future Master. I’m still learning.”

Neville stared at him as if he had lost his mind. “My grandfather used to be in the Coven of War. I had no idea it was a real thing!”

Harry shrugged his shoulders, trying to think of something. “I mean… It hasn’t been active for the last several hundred years. I just thought it might be a good thing to have.”

Draco was biting his lower lip, visibly trying his hardest not to laugh, even though Harry could see him holding it together only barely. Meanwhile, Neville stared at the floor, as if something like lava was about to come out of it.

“Harry, do you think I can be part of the Coven as well? I think this could really help me and my family…”

Chuckling slightly, Harry nodded. “You are very welcome to be part of my coven, Nev. As soon as I figure out how everything works, I will give you a high status inside it. It might take a while, though.”

“Thanks Harry. And don’t worry about that. First we have to survive our other Neo Death Eater attacks.” Neville sighed and Harry nodded.

He grabbed his friends and apparated all of them into the middle of his living room. At least like that nobody had seen them. In retrospect, they should have had their discussions in the house. Well, there were still some people inside who didn’t know about his life change. Still, there were also people on the outside. And if there had been anybody around, Harry was sure that Zil would have warned him.


	54. Chapter 54

Winter holidays were over. The children had all packed their things again and went on their merry way back to the safety of Hogwarts. Harry just hoped it was safe there. The last thing he needed was his children attacked by some crazy Neo Death Eaters. It was enough that he had been attacked by Voldemort and his wild followers almost once a year when he had been there.

And so, Harry stood there on platform 9 ¾ smiling at his children, as if nothing was wrong. He knew they all were suspicious of him. He wouldn’t have spent the holidays without them if nothing was going on. Even though Nate and Thelo had tried to get to the bottom, he hadn’t talked about their plans to take down Ainsworth and the Ministry.

Kay had stopped trying to get him to answer any questions, though Harry was sure that she was talking with her favorite brother about how to get through to him. Athena and Diana also followed their older sister’s example and didn’t question Harry. And while Harry was really intrigued into reading their minds to find out what was going on, he decided not to – to keep the family peace.

A few feet away from him, he could see Ron and Hermione bidding goodbye to Rose, Hugo and Lucy. Almost like Harry’s children, the three of them seemed to realize that something was going on. And much like Harry himself, Ron and Hermione weren’t saying a word.

“Dad, when do you think all of this is going to be over?” Thelo asked and sighed, walking towards the train, where Athena and Diana had already entered.

Harry smiled weakly. “As soon as possible, I hope. I want this whole mess over with by the time you guys come back.”

Nate snorted. “So you give yourself a six month window? You’re _Harry Potter_ , Dad. Can’t you like… tell the Minister that whatever’s going on is going on?”

“I wish it was that easy” Harry chuckled. Was it really that easy? He could tell Kingsley that Ainsworth wasn’t to be trusted. However, with all the moles and the Ministry Guards who for some reason seemed to be on Ainsworth’s side, it was easier to fight in the shadows. Hopefully.

“Dad, don’t think about it too much” Kay said and grinned. “Nate doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”

Nate glared at her. “Hey! As your older brother, I would like to tell you that you have to respect me!”

Kay snorted and shook her head. “You’re two years older. Hey, Thelo, since you’re older than Nate, do I have to respect him?”

Thelo’s eyes twinkled. “I don’t think so.”

“Children, play nice” Harry reminded them and grinned. “I promise I will have more time in the summer and we’ll go somewhere nice all together. As a family. How does that sound?”

“Promising. If you keep that promise” Nate smirked, while Thelo hit him over the head with his satchel. He made space on the stairs for Summer to walk by and grinned at Nate, who got up again. Harry presented him a stern look, which made Thelo shrug his shoulders.

Shaking his head, Harry saw that his son was doing fine and sighed. “As I said, boys. Play nice or I’ll have you grounded in the summer.”

Thelo laughed. “As if you’d remember that. Dad, I like your idea of doing something special in the summer. We’ll see you then?”

“Sure.”

Thelo and Nate got onto the train as well, while Kay waved to Grace and Winter who had just bid goodbye to Neville and Hannah.

The two girls ran closer, followed by Fred and Destiny, who all jumped into the train right as the loud whistle made it know that the train would be leaving any second. Kay waved from her window and Harry waved back at his children, hoping that they would at least have a nice, calm time.

Ron stepped next to Harry, waving to Lucy and they watched as the train left. Dean and Seamus sighed and the latter put an arm around Harry’s shoulder. “They’re going to be fine. And we’re going to… survive as well.”

“We have to” Harry smiled. The adults made their way back through the rather crowded platform into the Muggle World.

The fighters made their way quickly to Grimmauld’s Place. That included Dean, Seamus, George and Angelina. Lee followed his wife back home and promised to join in the evening and Neville and Hannah brought Jeremy back to Molly who had been so nice to agree to look after him for an unmentioned duration. She clearly knew that Harry and his friends were doing something. And she was either all for it or not happy with it at all but didn’t say anything. Whatever it was… she agreed to look after Neville’s son.

Walking out of the fire place, Harry frowned at the sight: Draco was working on a map. However, that wasn’t unexpected. What was surprising was that the Slytherin was surrounded by a Glow of Death. Not the usual glow, no. It was orange.

_Fate._

Harry groaned and shook his head. “Hi Draco! We’re back.” Without saying much more, he walked into the kitchen and grabbed sweet tea.

“Everything alright?” Draco asked from the door and raised his eyebrows.

“Sure.” Should he tell him about having to die because Fate chose him to do so? He couldn’t save him. So maybe it was better to keep it a secret. “I just hope that our children are safe at Hogwarts. I worry a little bit.”

Draco nodded. “I understand.” He leaned at the door and watched at Harry busied himself with making tea. Once, Harry finally had nothing else to do, he walked in an pressed a kiss on his lips. “Hey, since you guys are here, do you want anything from the shop?”

“Don’t go yet, Malfoy!” Seamus called from inside the house, clearly having heard them. “I need a few things as well! Give me five minutes, I’ll come with you.”

Chuckling, Draco rolled his eyes. “Copy that!” he called into the house, before turning back to Harry. “And what about you?”

Harry smiled. “Bring me some dark chocolate, that’s all I ask for.”

“Copy that” Draco smirked and winked at him, before he walked to the entrance, waiting for Seamus.

In all honesty, Harry hadn’t even realized that they left, leaning over _Of Blood and Death_ for even more information. Surprisingly, it was writing about the same spell or ritual that it would take to theoretically take out an Immortal.

Since this book was more for readers that didn’t realize Death Magic was real, this could be seen as just a crazy wild idea. However, Harry had already researched it in Death’s realm and he knew that it was almost an exact copy.

> The Immortal Human Being can only be eradicated by its own impuissance; giving up a life to elongate one's life force is as much an impotency as it is a vigor. It gives the utilizer illimitable time, but withal presents itself as the Achilles' heel. To undo this, the following things have to be done:
> 
>   1. the utilizer of the ritual has to be disposed to give up his own life force
>   2. the blood utilized in this ritual should be fresh and from the utilizer him or herself
>   3. the utilizer has to draw the face of the Immortal Human Being with his or her own blood and chant "sit mortale" three times
> 

> 
> The Immortal Human Being will be abbreviated to its former age and will be senescent in the mundane rate. However, the utilizer might end up having to pay with the difference of their ages and age according to the years lived.

Did this book really just state that Harry could die should he want to make Narcissa and Lucius back to normal again? And two people were a little bit too much. That would mean he had to tell someone else to do the same thing he was already doing! How could he ask anyone to do something like that?!

Well, his thinking was interrupted, when Seamus suddenly stood in front of him, staring at him wide eyed. “Draco was just abducted!”

“What?!” Harry jumped up and he felt his friends rush into the kitchen as well.

“Seamus, what are you talking about?” Hermione asked.

Their friend climbed down from the table and shook his head. “I… When we paid for everything, I went outside and just when I turned around to look at Draco, some man came out of nowhere and put a bag over his head with some weird bracelets around his wrist. I think they prevented him from using his magic. And then… he was just gone. It happened in two seconds, I couldn’t react!”

“Fuck!” Harry jumped up and stopped, before he would start just doing anything. Maybe he could look into Seamus’ mind and see the abductor. Mind reading should work like that, right?

He concentrated and within a second, he could basically see the scene in front of him. That was probably just because Seamus was currently thinking about that as well. Honestly, it wasn’t that surprising. And neither was the fact of who the abductor was.

When Harry came back, he swore and groaned. “Fucking Jack the Ripper!” He narrowed his eyes and frowned, looking back at the book that lay open on the kitchen table. He had intended on bringing back Narcissa and Lucius, but maybe he needed to practice first? He was Death, so theoretically, he shouldn’t be able to die… right?

“Harry?” He was brought back to reality by Hermione. She frowned at him. “We’re going to look for him; do you want to join us?”

Shaking his head, Harry walked back into the kitchen. “I’ve got my own plan. But you go looking for him. Maybe Central London or somewhere old…”

Hermione nodded quickly and they walked out. Meanwhile, Harry grabbed a knife and without thinking, cut his palm until his blood poured out. He closed his eyes, breathing deeply, and looked down at the newspaper. Concentrated, he started drawing the picture of the serial killer and said “Sit Mortale! Sit Mortale! Sit Mortale!”

Nothing happened. Suddenly, he remembered the book he had read in the Realm of Death and he also remembered the spell Death had told him. Maybe this one was the correct spell? “Et Mortuus Est! Et Mortuus Est! ET MORTUUS EST!”

Once he finished, he suddenly found himself out of breath. He tried to get some air and both hands grabbed his neck, where he accidentally smeared more of his blood. Gasping for air, he fell to the floor, trying to force the life giving substance into his lungs. Nothing worked and within seconds, he found blackness in front of his eyes.

 _So that’s it? That’s how I die?_ , was the last thought Harry had, before he lost all consciousness.


	55. Chapter 55

“For Merlin’s sake, Potter!”

Harry felt a kiss on his lips, before he inhaled air and opened his eyes. Directly over him was Draco, frowning down on him. There was a very small grin on Draco's lips and Harry chuckled softly. He had done it! Draco was here and safe!

Someone cleared their throat at the door and Harry turned his head to see Hermione and Ron at the door. Next to them stood Argui Dawjan, raised eyebrows, looking at him. Harry couldn’t really figure out whether or not he was angry at him or surprised or even proud.

“I’m so sorry, Draco. I needed to do something!” Harry turned back to his boyfriend, groaned and sat up.

Before Draco could say something, Death sighed. “You’re turning back into the foolish Paruluum, Harry Potter. You cannot perform a ritual as the Master of Death that is supposed to kill the user of a ritual!”

Rubbing his head, Harry glared at the immortal being. “Thank you. Next time, I would have liked a little more guidance. That happens when I don’t get to hear about everything that I can do.”

“Harry?” Ron asked, when he got a push from Hermione.

She smiled at Harry, nodding. “We’ll leave you alone. Maybe you need to talk to your invisible friend here.”

Draco quickly ran his hand through Harry’s hair. “I’m glad you’re back with the living, Harry. You gave us quite the scare.”

Harry chuckled and nodded. “That was all planned.” He winked at Draco who rolled his eyes. “I also planned to come back. You know, as the Master of Death does.”

Smirking, Draco pressed a quick kiss in his forehead. “Sure, Harry. I’ll leave you alone with the immortal around here. Don’t really want to be in his view, when he starts lecturing you.”

Once Draco was gone and had closed the door behind him, Death sighed and shook his head. “Harry Potter, you are being extremely foolish right now. Do you have any idea of how long you were gone?” Harry wordlessly shook his head. “You were gone for about two hours! It was enough time for your friends to find and free Draco Malfoy.”

“I honestly don’t see the problem here.” Harry shrugged his shoulders.

“The problem here, Paruluum, is that this ritual is supposed to be performed by a mortal who by saving another person gives up his or her life for Death. A few weeks ago I showed you a ritual that could work for Immortals and especially Death as well.” Death looked at him sternly as if he wanted to get an apology for what Harry had done.

Well, sadly, he wasn’t getting that. Harry chuckled. “Well, I mean, you said that people could die with this ritual as well. So… Why is there a difference between the ritual you showed me and the one I performed?”

Death groaned and shook his head. “It’s not for you!”

“But it worked! I quite clearly made Jack the Ripper mortal again and I saved Draco. Even if I ended up being unconscious for two hours…” Before he could finish his sentence, Death interrupted him again.

“You were dead, Harry Potter. You weren’t unconscious. You died.”

Dead? The last time he had died, for real, was in the forest. He had seen Dumbledore and he had remembered everything. Why couldn’t he remember anything today? If he had really been dead, shouldn’t he have gotten some memory of what had happened there?

“It doesn’t work like that, Paruluum. Now that you’ve activated your power for Master of Death, you can’t just go to the Realm of the Dead. If you die and you haven’t gotten another Death, you will be erased from history and the ability to die may have as well. It’s dangerous playing God, Paruluum.” 

Death didn’t have to say more. In fact, he wasn’t saying more. Harry already knew that he had been far too easy going with all this immortality. He could have blamed Death for not really teaching him everything, but he didn’t. It wasn’t only his fault; Harry just liked to jump into action and not really think it through.

“I see” Harry frowned. “So, when you finally give me the authority to be Death and you’re gone, I can’t just be stupid and do things like that again, since… it could mean that no one could ever die again?”

“Exactly.”

Harry sighed and got up. “Alright. Thank you for telling me. And I do see that I wasn’t thinking at all right now. You can stop calling me baby.”

“We’ll meet tonight again to discuss a healthier way to get rid of Immortals that you deem unworthy of their Immortality, though remember that they did sacrifice their loved once – usually.” With that, once again… Death was gone.

Not a second later, the door opened again and Draco appeared. “Hey, Lee, Katie and Cho are here. Seamus and Dean have some more Information and I think Hermione also wants to talk to you about something Ainsworth planning.”

Harry sighed. “I don’t think I can ever catch a break.”

“What, now?” Draco smirked. “We’re in the middle of a secret war, Harry, of course _you_ out of all people can’t catch a break. And – you know” he winked at him, “…you also have a job next to fighting for the revolution which I believe also takes a lot of work.”

“Oh, you have no idea!”

Draco laughed and put an arm around his shoulders. “I can imagine. By the way, I think Katie wants to move in, since there’s a rumor that a lot of people, especially former Aurors have been attacked by presumably the Neo Death Eaters.”

Harry nodded as they walked into the living room, where Hermione just brought tea and Ron some sandwiches. Lee and George were sitting on a couch and Cho and Katie were standing by the map that was hung up on the wall.

As soon as Cho saw Harry and Draco walk in, she crossed the room quickly. “The Ministry is freaking out! They think you’re going against them.”

“Why?” Harry frowned and shook his head.

Katie smirked and walked towards them as well. “Well, since you told Ainsworth that you think he wants to do something illegal in the Ministry, he uses every second of everyone who’s willing to listen - which means everyone - that you once again are losing your mind.”

Draco snorted. “You were right last time. Surely, people will realize that!”

Harry grinned and shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t really mind if people think I’m crazy. At least that way, they may be safe.”

A faint explosion sound made everyone look up. It sounded as if someone had let off firework somewhere in the distance. Harry had just wanted to turn back to his friends, when he felt a tug on his magic directing him to the wards. It felt as if someone was trying to get through them.

Frowning, he walked through the house and looked out the study window. There were in fact, quite a few Ministry Guards trying their hardest to get through the wards. If they had been Aurors, maybe they would have gotten through after ten hours of magical use without breaks. But Ministry Guards?! They weren’t even getting close.

Not with Harry’s level of Ward Security. He had learnt how to tailor it to his living breathing soul. Nobody would ever get through if he didn’t want them to – or if he was deadly injured and weak as hell.

Shaking his head, he turned around and found Draco and Hermione there. “They won’t get through.” He smirked and motioned them to walk back through the house into the living room.

“I don’t understand them” Hermione sighed. It seemed as if she really didn’t want to go back to work in the Ministry, at least not as it was right this second.

Draco nodded. “I really want this all to be over as soon as possible.”

They just entered the living room again, when the fire place sounded. Cho walked into the room and grinned broadly. “That’ll be Luna! I’ll let her in.”

In the two seconds, where Cho walked over to open the fire place, everyone turned deep red. The Glow of Death was so overpowering, that Harry froze for a second, just quick enough for him to push all his magic forward when a green package was dropped down the fire place and exploded all inside the secure magical bubble.


	56. Chapter 56

“Everyone okay?” Harry asked and looked around. Luckily, everyone seemed to be fine. Draco looked deeply scarred and Hermione and Ron had wide eyes, shaking slightly, the rest had apparently not understood what this mysterious package was.

Or at least Harry thought so, until Katie held her breath and turned to them with wide eyes. “They want to kill all of us?!”

Hermione frowned. “What is it? I’ve never seen this!”

“It’s Morietur-Powder.” Cho explained. “People die by inhaling it. Depending on how much and how intense it is, you can die between thirty minutes and ten days. But if you’ve ever inhaled it, you’ll die eventually.”

Harry let out a somewhat shaky breath. “Don’t worry, I got it sealed with my magic. Nobody’s going to die through this.”

Ron frowned at Katie. “Where can you get that?”

“No idea. There are a lot of rumors around it. Some people think it’s a byproduct from the three curses” Katie explained and shrugged her shoulders.

“That’s just stupid” George shook his head.

Lee agreed. “As if there’s always green powder coming from the wands whenever you used these curses.”

Cupping his magic tightly around the powder so that nothing should be able to escape, Harry exhaled again. He wanted nothing like that in his home. And also, who would try to attack him?!

Well, that last question was probably rather easily answered: It was either the Neo Death Eaters or Ainsworth himself. Whoever it was – they quite probably wanted him dead.

He turned back to Lee. “True, something seems off. We need to research that. Katie, do you want to look into that?”

Katie grinned and nodded. “Sure. Cho could help as well.” She seemed really interested in looking at something like that. Actually, they both seemed rather eager to find out what was going on with this mysterious powder.

“Right.” Harry nodded and turned to the Slytherin. “Draco, can you get the powder out of here, without anyone of us inhaling it?”

“On it!” Draco took out his wand and placed whatever complicated spell he had thought off around the powder and within a second it just disappeared right out of Harry’s own magic. He let the spell go and slumped into a chair, while most people went off doing some things. Draco followed Cho and Katie to look at the powder.

Meanwhile, Ron sat on a chair close to Harry. He frowned at him and sighed. “Harry, what’s going on? You’re weird around Draco.”

Harry closed his eyes and sighed. “He’s glowing orange.”

“You need to get me back up to speed, Harry.” Hermione frowned and walked closer as well. “Orange means he’s supposed to die?”

“Well, all of them mean that. But orange means it’s fate.” He rubbed his forehead and stared at the ancient table in the corner. “Maybe I can somehow change it. Maybe I could… do something and…”

Hermione placed a hand on his arm. “Harry, don’t. At least not now. It’s clear that you don’t know what you want to do right now.”

“Yeah, mate. Besides, Ainsworth’s got a meeting coming up tomorrow. It’s really weird since the place he’s going to be at is supposed to be another headquarter for Neo Death Eaters.” Ron rolled his eyes and sighed frustrated. “It’s as if he’s a follower himself.” Sarcasm was dripping from his voice like thick honey.

Harry snorted. “Fine.” He held his hands up. “I guess I’ll go see what Death’s cooking for me.”

“Road kill maybe?” Draco’s voice sounded from the door and he smirked at Harry who rolled his eyes.

“How long have you been there?”

Draco chuckled. “A few seconds. I’ve decided to treat everyone who’s researching to some nice wine.” He motioned to his wand where Harry caught him levitating a few glasses and two bottles.

“Try not to get shitfaced.” Harry grinned. “Good night everyone. Sleep tight.”

“You too, Master.” Draco hinted at a mocked bow and Harry couldn’t stop himself from grinning.

He walked past Draco and pushed him to the side, while a glass came dangerously close to the wall and almost crashed into it. “You’re terrible, Draco.”

Before he could walk away, Draco grabbed his arm and pulled him closer. “You love it.”

“Not really.” Harry placed a kiss on his lips. “But I do love you.”

Inside his bedroom, Harry glared at the bed for quite some time. Why had Draco once again a Glow of Death around him?! Hadn’t he done enough to show Death that he was capable to keep his emotions in check?

Well, maybe it wasn’t that. Maybe it was because his stupid parents – mostly Lucius – had given Draco up to Life to reach Immortality. Maybe that was why he was glowing orange.

Rubbing his forehead, Harry sighed defeated. The only way to figure out something was to go and ask Death himself. Still a little unsure of what he should do, he crawled into bed and fell on his back, staring at the ceiling.

It took him nearly a full hour until his brain was finally able to come to rest and he suddenly found himself in the Realm of Death.

“Hello Bonum” Death welcomed him and Harry nodded.

“Death. Long time no see. A lot of things have happened.”

The tall white haired man nodded and grinned devilishly. “I know. It’s slightly concerning.” He narrowed his eyes. “You’ve started the Coven of War. They’ll be useful to you, I can tell.”

“Why did you bring me here?” Well, technically, he had already wanted to come here, but with Draco glowing orange, Harry did feel slightly concerned with everything. “Just to discuss my actions? We could have done that while I was alive.”

Death smirked. “That is true, but I want you to learn another lesson. You’re going to have to fight your boss with Death Magic to win the war.”

“It’s not a war yet” Harry interrupted Death, but stopped once he glared daggers at him. “Sorry, go on.”

“You need to know how to pick one person out of a group of others and kill them and _only_ them. You’re still a little inept when it comes to precision. You do need that when you’re going to meet your boss, just so you don’t hurt any innocent bystander” Death explained.

Harry raised an eyebrow. “They’re all Neo Death Eaters.” 

Death was quiet, probably to drive his point home and after an uncomfortably long silence, Harry sighed. “But I understand. Last time the shadows helped me, though.”

“Yes, you can’t trust them to always have your back. The shadows have their own minds and one day they might help, the next they won’t even respond to your calling. Trust me; you need to learn how to do this on your own.” Death smirked as if he had remembered something funny. He wasn’t going to share it though and so Harry nodded.

With a small gesture of his hands, Death created a group of shadow people. One was glowing red and with that, he turned back to Harry. “You need to focus on them. Connect your magic, like you would if you were reading someone’s thoughts. However, instead of only reading something, you’re _taking_ something. You’re taking their life force.”

Harry nodded. “So, it’s basically what I did with the people glowing blue? Taking back what’s mine?”

“Not exactly, since it isn’t yours, but in theory that is exactly what you’re doing.” Death motioned Harry towards the red shadow.

Exhaling, Harry concentrated in reaching out his magic and within seconds got into the shadow. Frowning slightly, he thought of what to do next. Inhaling, he closed his eyes and filled his own Death Magic with the shadow’s life force. After a few moments, it dissipated and Death widened his eyes. He had probably not thought that Harry could do it the first time.

“I am impressed Bonum. You have grown into your Death Magic. I thought we needed to spend all night practicing, but you’ve already learnt how to do so.”

*

“Here’s the map.” Hermione placed a map of a house on the table where Harry was currently eating breakfast. After he had shown Death that he was able to take someone’s life force, he had let him go rather quickly, though Harry spent the remainder of the night in the Realm of Death reading up on things. Death had disappeared and not answered any questions concerning Draco. How Harry had despised him right there... For now, he pushed away the plate with toast and grabbed the parchment.

On the parchment was a map of a huge manor. It seemed to be an older house, built somewhere after the first World War most likely.

He looked up and frowned. “What, how did you get that?” Harry asked and shook his head.

Hermione smirked. “I’ve got my ways.” She drew a circle around a room almost in the middle of the manor. “This is the room where a lot of higher-ups will meet. Ainsworth will be one of those.” This was going to be fun…

“Yeah, I don’t think we’ve thought this through.” Susan said as she entered and shook her head.

“How so?” Harry asked sarcastically and sighed. “We’re just walking into a headquarter of Neo Death Eaters who are looking for us, try to take out their likely leader – Ainsworth – and see if we can get out of there unharmed. I don’t see what could go wrong there!” He shook his head.

Ron who had been making tea snorted. “Yeah, mate. It’s just like buying a wand. Except the shadows in Olivanders are evil eyes and one wrong move to a wand will likely kill us. Oh and the shop is on an active volcano. Not bad at all.”

“Okay, the meeting starts in about three hours.” Dean entered the kitchen and motioned everyone who was in there to follow him. “Let’s get all of you changed.” 

Harry got up and followed Ron and Susan into the living room, where Seamus and Draco were already looking at how to get through security. Hermione was going to stay back while Draco was once again trying to blend into the crowd, hoping that Ainsworth wasn’t going to find him and if he did, that he could talk his way out of it.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Harry turned to all of them.

“Yes” was the choir’s answer.

“Then let’s do this.”


	57. Chapter 57

They made it! They could walk right through the people surrounding the place and nobody had thought something about why they had come here. Harry had thought that his scar, which was on the other side of his head and not in the shape of a lightning bolt anymore, was too obvious. However, there were people around here that had half of their face missing and others with burnt down fingers, so his scar was probably welcome.

It had scared Harry slightly with how easy they had been able to walk through the rather tight security. It was as if Ainsworth had been hoping somebody was going to try and get him. That would also explain how Hermione had gotten the map to this place so easily. Harry didn’t doubt that she had her ways of getting things, but even this seemed too easy.

While Ron and Draco went off to the other side of the room, chatting with a guy that had a very bad eye, Susan stayed close to Harry. He didn’t blame her – the crowd here was tough. It seemed as if Ainsworth wanted to get the worst looking people out here for some political and also social reason.

There had to be more to this meeting than just a ‘Let’s destroy the Ministry’ kind of message. Suddenly, from the corner of his eyes, Harry found an old woman walking through the crowd in the same speed they were. Her long grey hair was bound back and she had a twisted smile on her face, as if she had a secret nobody else could ever get out of her.

Her eyes were darting over Susan more than not and if they hadn’t been in the middle of a Neo Death Eater meat up, Harry would have assumed she was crazy or even a stalker. Now, there were other things more important. Did she recognize the person Dean had turned her into? That shouldn’t have been possible, as they tried to refrain from using actual people as inspiration.

Before he could think of more options, the woman smirked evil and walked towards them. Susan gasped and turned to him wide eyed. Harry narrowed his eyes, thinking about what Death had shown him. He needed to get rid of her.

Reaching out his magic, he found hers quickly. It was slightly different with actual breathing, living people than with shadows. However, only slightly. And so, without any thoughts, he gathered all of her life force. Within seconds, she fell to the floor – lifeless.

Well, her falling to the floor did not have the desired effect. Susan wasn’t found out which was what Harry had intended. However, it also wasn’t a distraction, as not even a second later, somebody else called out.

“Draco Malfoy’s here! Look, it’s an actual Dark Mark!” The hall was suddenly quiet and all eyes were on the former blond haired man. Harry even caught him slightly panicking, though he did hide it very well and if you hadn’t spent years sneaking after him, Harry also wouldn’t have noticed. But now he did. Should he help him?

On the front of the hall, Harry could see how Ainsworth got up and smirked at the former Death Eater. It was as if he had expected him to join. Harry narrowed his eyes. This man was just unable to read. All of his actions seemed random.

Ainsworth crossed his arms and smirked. “Draco Malfoy, what a surprise to see you here! Alive.”

Draco had his pureblood mask of neutrality up and inclined his head slightly as a sign of respect. “Well, I thought I should pay my respects. You’ve been the one to continuously hunt down the Ne… Death Eaters. Now you’re one of them. I thought I should do the same.”

Huffing, Ainsworth raised his eyebrows and he started walking towards Draco – extremely slowly as if he wanted to make a spectacle out of it. “I doubt that’s what you’re intending on doing.”

“Then what do you think I’m here for, Ainsworth?”

Except for the two people speaking, everyone was quiet. You could have heard a needle hit the floor. Well… probably not, as people were constantly moving to get a better view of what was happening on the other side.

Harry held his breath as Ainsworth smirked dirty. “I think you’re still trying to take down the organization.”

“I was following _your_ orders.” Draco crossed his arms. “I never wanted to do this in the first place. My intent is still the same as before – Muggles are weak.”

Harry exhaled silently. Draco was really selling his lie. He should, though, since anything else would literally result in him getting killed. In all of them getting killed probably.

Wait… could he maybe take Ainsworth’s life force? Could he kill him? He had already once read his thoughts, maybe with this in mind he could actually take out the leader of the Neo Death Eaters…

Reaching out his magic, Harry crossed paths with quite a few, but still decided to go towards their Head Auror. Meanwhile, the discussion had still been going on.

“What do I need to do for you to finally believe I’m not trying to hurt the Death Eaters?” Draco sighed and shook his head.

“Kill Harry Potter.”

Silence. Harry stopped and his concentration broke. Ainsworth wanted him dead?! Well, that wasn’t all that surprising. Maybe, in a weird way, Harry being alive took away some kind of power from them and by killing him, they would potentially get powerful. Whatever that meant. 

“Fine.” Draco looked at Ainsworth as if it was old news what he was talking about. “I’ll see how fast I can do it.”

Harry frowned. Ainsworth nodded and said something so quietly that basically nobody could hear it. However, Harry knew immediately what it was he said. It wasn’t just some words or something. He had spelt a curse upon Draco.

His boyfriend – or whatever they were right now – was glowing black. Harry held his breath. Was there a way to undo a black Glow of Death? According to Death, absolutely not. But he hadn’t told him everything, Harry was sure of it. Maybe he could… somehow take away his curse…

He was distracted again, when someone pulled Susan away and in front of his perfect view of Draco and Ainsworth. “You’re not Jaqueline!” the witch said and took out her wand, about to hex her.

Harry and Ron (from the other side of the room) reacted quickly and blasted her into the air – also revealing that they were intruders, not yet showing their real identities. Well, Ainsworth must have thought something, as he rushed away from sight, taking Draco and a few others with him.

Spells were cast through the room. Lightning in blue, red and green lit up the dark room and Harry saved his friends quite a lot of times, until Ron jumped towards them both and apparated them away as soon as he had gotten a hold on Susan and Harry.

*

Outside London, Harry stumbled on the hard floor and fell down, coughing. “Fuck!”

Ron, breathing heavily, nodded and sat down himself. Susan groaned and inspected her cut on the upper arm. “What now?” she asked, when she apparently decided that it wasn’t that bad. Well, that her cut wasn’t that bad. The bad news was still that Ainsworth had Draco, he had cursed him and his boyfriend also had the order to kill him. All of these were incredibly bad.

“We report back to the others and try to come up with a way of freeing Draco” Ron answered and rubbed his forehead. “Side-along again?”  
Harry huffed. “Absolutely not. I was about to puke. Let’s meet in Grimmauld Place again; we all know how to get inside. Apparition is allowed for all of us.”


	58. Chapter 58

„So now, Draco’s basically been abducted by Neo Death Eaters. Actually, by Ainsworth.” Harry sighed deeply and rubbed his forehead. He felt a few stares on him, but decided to ignore them. What were they going to do to Draco? His best option was that Ainsworth actually seemed to believe him.

It was quiet for a little bit. Only the magical swirl of the plates being washed and the parchments being moved could be heard. Looking up, Harry found George looking at him, frowning. “Now what? Where do we go from here?”

The redhead turned to look at the other members of Dumbledore’s Army. Lee nodded approvingly, as if he had wanted to ask the exact same question. Angelina placed her arm around her husband as if she wanted to calm him down, while Harry found that most of the adults in his age turned to look at him.

“Well. Nothing has changed.” He looked around the table at his friends. Cho just wanted to say something, when Harry shook his head. “Draco knows our plan. He has been planning it with Hermione and Angelina. It doesn’t mean anything that he’s now within the enemy. If anything, it could be useful to us somehow.”

Hermione leaned forward and sighed. “That is true. However, we need to get him out! We can’t let him stay with Ainsworth. We all know that he’s not to be trusted.”

She looked at Ron, as if she wanted him to confirm what she had just said, when he rubbed his forehead. “Actually, I’m on Harry’s side. Nothing’s really changed. If anything, Draco just changed roles from being a planner to an undercover agent. Even if he hates field work, I have to admit that he is one of our best Aurors. Hermione, I think he’ll be fine.” He smiled at his wife. Before he shrugged his shoulders and added: “And he is one of Voldemort’s original Death Eaters.”

Even Katie, Neville and Susan agreed, which made Harry nod his head, as he thought of a possibility of how he could potentially talk to Draco. “Right. So here’s how we’re continuing: Luna, I need you, Cho and Katie to write an article for any newspaper you deem trustworthy. You’ve figured out the problem with the powder thing, right?”

Katie nodded and pointed to the stack of research papers. Meanwhile, Luna smiled and Cho grinned, clearly happy to do something except researching something.

“Hermione and Angelina, there are only a few Neo Death Eater nests left. Try to find the last few quarters and maybe, if possible, a headquarter” Harry continued.

George looked up. “I would like to volunteer looking into the research. If they find something, I could go and find out if there are indeed some or a lot of Neo Death Eaters.”

Harry sighed. “Sure. Take Lee with you. I’m not letting any of you out there alone anymore. It’s too dangerous right now.”

“I’m all in!” Lee smirked and high-fived George. Harry chuckled over their antics, but was happy that their situation apparently wasn’t all that bad for them.

“Dean, Seamus” Harry turned to his other friends. “We need some more information from the Ministry. Ainsworth’s not there right now, if you think you can ask questions, try to find something. I don’t think there are any more moles in there. I believe Ainsworth was the main one.”

Seamus nodded and smiled at Dean who sighed, but wordlessly agreed as well. Harry smiled weakly and turned to the others. “As for Neville, Susan and Hannah, I don’t have anything specific for you in mind, just help out everyone or stay at your job and listen to what Ministry Officials have to say about Ainsworth and this whole situation.”

Everyone got up and went into different rooms to work on what they had been told to do. Everyone, but Hermione, Ron and Neville. Harry knew that they wanted some more information out of him.

“And what are you going to do? We all know you won’t let Draco live in captivity” Neville said and frowned.

Sighing, Harry nodded. “I’ve got a good friend I’m going to ask for help. But I have a terrible idea.”

Hermione looked questioning, but he really didn’t want to say. It wasn’t just a terrible idea, it was the only one he had. The only one that would let Draco off the hook, so he could be free.

“Harry?” Ron asked and frowned.

“Well” he started. Maybe he did indeed need to tell them what he was planning. “All you know of my condition, right?”

Hermione looked at Neville and frowned slightly, before she apparently realized that Harry had sometime told him as well (or really: he had figured it out on his own). Ron narrowed his eyes and frowned as well. None of them seemed to guess where this was going.

“I will make Draco kill me and hide in Death’s Realm. I’m seemingly dead when I’m there anyway. I’ve already once fooled some Neo Death Eaters. I can do it again.”

Everyone was quiet. At least for a few seconds, when Ron and Hermione started talking at the same time. Ron was the one who then finished his sentence, while Hermione shook her head.

“Harry, if you do that, all of Britain will find out.”

Hermione widened her eyes, as if there was something she hadn’t thought of. “Your children will find out!”

“I know.” Harry sighed and shook his head. “I can’t tell them the truth.”

“Harry!” Hermione threw her hands into the air. “They have already lost their mother! How do you think they’ll react if they hear that you died?!”

“You can’t tell them! You can’t tell them about my condition, ‘Mione!” Harry narrowed his eyes, unhappy with what he had to do. It was the only way of keeping Draco safe. He needed to do this. If he was ‘dead’, he could help from the shadows. “If Ainsworth thinks it’s a trap, he will look at my children, because he knows I’d do anything for them. You cannot tell them the truth!”

Neville shook his head. “So, you really want to make them go through the trauma of losing their father too?”

Harry frowned at Neville. “There’s no other way.” He really would have thought Neville was on his side. Apparently, he was wrong.

“Listen, Harry, there’s always another way!” Ron shook his head.

Hermione nodded. “At least give us a day until you do something! If you die, the newspapers will be all over the children. Rita Skeeter might even come out of retirement and get an exclusive on them.”

Sighing, Harry held up his hands. “Sure. You get twenty four hours. But if we end up going with my plan, I don’t want my children informed. They need to think something has happened.”

“We won’t go with your plan” Ron stated and motioned Hermione to walk with him.

That only left Neville, who raised his eyebrows. They both waited quietly until Hermione and Ron had walked up the stairs. Only then did Neville finally speak: “You’re not giving them twenty four hours, are you?”

Harry shook his head. “No. Keep an eye on everyone for me, will you? Don’t let them go out tonight. I don’t want to frighten them. And I do have a plan to reveal to my children that I didn't die.”

Neville sighed and nodded. “Sure. I hope you’re already planning on how to make this up to your children.”

“One thing at a time, Nev.” Harry smiled weakly. “First, I need to go ask Death a few things. But I plan on going out later tonight.”

*

Opening his eyes, Harry found himself in the Realm of Death. He quickly got up and brushed some rubble from his shoulders, turning to the white haired man on the floor.

“Evening Death.”

Looking up, Death smiled. “Hello Bonum. Back so soon?”

Nodding, Harry got to the point quickly: “Is it possible to read minds from a distance? And is it possible to make it like a discussion? Can I talk to someone through their thoughts?”

Death frowned. “I’ve never tried it, but it should be perfectly possible. You are Death, so I believe you can create your own rules.”

“Are you serious?” Harry narrowed his eyes.

“Absolutely.”

*

Only an hour had gone by when Harry opened his eyes again, with eagerness in mind that he was going to save Draco today. Well, tonight. He needed to do this as quickly as possible, so that he also wasn’t going to be dead for long.

Closing his eyes, he reached out his magic. He knew how Draco’s magic felt like and so, while the circle around him grew and grew, he was only looking for one specific magical signature. After almost ten minutes, he suddenly felt a tug on his magic and ripped open his eyes.

He had found Draco!

_Draco, I’m in your head right now. Can you talk?_

He didn’t even have to wait for long, when he heard an answer as if it was Draco’s voice in his head. “I’m outside right now, but Ainsworth’s idiots are following me. I think I can talk.”

_I know how you can win his loyalty!_

Was Draco laughing? It seemed as if there was a laugh of Draco inside his head. “By killing you. I am not going to do something so stupid, love!”

_I’ve got an idea! But you’d have to pretend to kill me._

Draco seemed to be quiet for a few seconds. “Did you not hear what I’ve told you just a few seconds earlier? I am not going to kill you.”

Harry sighed and shook his head. _I cannot die. So if you kill me, I will simply be in the Realm of Death and you can show Ainsworth that you’re worth trusting. That way, he will probably let you free and you can tell the others all about his plans. I don’t think he’s currently in headquarters. But maybe, with you inside the Neo Death Eaters, we get a better chance at destroying their organization._

Once again, it was quite for quite some time, until Draco’s voice was in his head again. “Ainsworth wants me to clean up the mess left over by raising the Dark Lord from the dead. We could meet there if you want?”

Harry exhaled. _I’ll be there in an hour._


	59. Chapter 59

Sneaking out of his own house felt weird. Well, he had met Neville in the kitchen, when he walked there to get some liquid courage – one glass of fire whiskey. It wasn’t everyday that you were being killed by your boyfriend.

“It’s happening now, right?” Neville asked and pushed a few tomatoes back into the fridge.

Nodding, Harry confirmed it and smiled at his friend. “Keep them away from the Scottish Highlands, Neville. I know what I’m doing.” Well, he hoped that he knew what he was doing.

Neville nodded. “I trust you. Just be careful and for Merlin’s sake, make it quick. I’ve already tasked Luna with including a secret message for your children into the piece about you and the green powder, whatever that name was. Once the Prophet gets their version of events out, Luna will publish her thing and give your children some peace – hopefully.”

“They’ll figure it out.” Thelo and Kay had to. Nate was also rather smart, he was in Ravenclaw. He could only hope that everything went smooth. When Neville nodded and walked passed him, he held him back quickly. “Nev, wait. Thank you.”

“Of course, Harry. I’ll always be by your side, mate.” He gave him an encouraging nod and left the kitchen, while Harry inhaled and turned to walk into the garden.

In the corner at the back, the wards had always been rather weak, so he had used this place to apparate unseen and unknown. He had never really needed to do so. However, he had used it mostly for Christmas presents, when the children had been little and still believed in Santa Claus.

He didn’t trust himself to apparate quite close to Voldemort's almost last burial site, but it wasn’t more than forty minutes walking. With every step, his anxiety and nervousness grew. He knew exactly where to find Draco, but still… the fact that he was currently walking towards death, not knowing if he would even come out at the end.

Somehow it reminded him of something… The battle of Hogwarts. He had walked into his death as well, though there he had been fairly certain that he wasn’t going to die. And with fairly certain he meant… not sure at all, but hopeful. Now… Who knew really?

Yes, he was the future Master of Death, but maybe Death had enough of him and decided to let him die right there and then… then what? His children would be without father, he hadn’t even bid goodbye to his friends…

Breathing faster, Harry found himself in front of Voldemort’s final resting place. Seeing Draco walking out of the hidden cemetery, he knew it was too late to run away and stop what he was doing.

“You found me” Draco said quietly, actually pretending to be surprised.

Harry nodded and wet his lips. His mouth was so dry. Draco smiled softly. “Don’t worry love, I’m here. I’ll take care of you” he whispered.

“Don’t let Ainsworth hurt me” Harry answered and Draco nodded.

“Ready?”

Shaking his head, Harry sighed. “Yes. Let’s get this over with.”

Draco hugged him and kissed his temple. “I love you.” Before Harry could answer, he pushed him away. In one fluent movement, he took out his wand, pointed it at Harry and smirked. “Avada Kedavra!”

*

“You’re being foolish again, Paruluum.”

Harry smirked and opened his eyes. He found himself in a slightly different place. It wasn’t full of rocks and dried lava; no, it seemed like another planet. The colors were more intense, the air light and it smelled of flowers and freshly made pancakes and toast. He was lying on the soft grass where not even one little pinch annoyed him. The sky was so blue that he felt his happiness rise rather quickly.

It was amazing here! Birds were chirping and it seemed as if a string quartet sounded from somewhere behind the hills. Sitting up, Harry rubbed his eyes to find his glasses gone. He could still see everything extremely clear.

Turning to the Immortal, Harry frowned. Something was going on… “Did I die? Wait, did I actually do it?” Harry widened his eyes, looking around again. It couldn’t have happened, right?! What was going to happen to his children?! He… he only did this to get Draco back, not to hurt his children longer than he needed to get into the Neo Death Eaters…

Death narrowed his eyes. “Did you want to do it?”

“No, but this isn’t your Realm. So, did I die?” Harry quickly got up and looked at his clothes. He was wearing some nice clean dark blue jeans along with a smooth and comfortable light yellow shirt. That was definitely not what he had been wearing when he went to look for Draco.

Argui Dawjan sighed. “No. But you gave it a good try.” He frowned. “I think Draco Malfoy’s love declaration kept you… _alive_ or as alive as you can be when you’re dead.”

“Nice.” Harry stated, still a little unsure of what was going on and if he could ever go back and see his children. Well, if Draco had kept him alive, he should be able to get out of this place, right?

Hopefully it wouldn’t be too late. Hermione and Ron knew what he wanted to do, Neville as well. And he had asked Neville to keep an eye on everyone. That should include his children. If they were totally freaking out, he trusted Neville to give them the necessary information. And well, Luna’s paper also should help. She had been writing it for quite a while. The title was supposed to be a tribute to him and the rest of it was information as to what the Neo Death Eaters have been up to, including the green powder.

Death sighed and got Harry’s attention back. “Paruluum, have you forgotten what I’ve told you the last time you performed the ritual where you died? If you die, Death is gone as well.”

“Sure. But for now, you’re still here.” Harry shrugged, remembering quickly that this could have gone so very wrong. Luckily for him, he actually had forgotten about what Death had told him. Otherwise, he had not done it. Thanks to Draco’s love declaration, he was still alive. He must have known… Harry cleared his throat again. “And it was the only way of keeping Draco alive.”

Death shook his head. “I trust you have seen his Glow of Death.”

Harry glared at him. “I have.” He had seen both of them. The black one made by Ainsworth and the orange one. But maybe there was still a way of getting rid of this orange one. “Nothing lasts forever.”

“Yes, he will die due to fate.” Apparently Death had interpreted his speech in another way. He had actually wanted to say that there was a way of helping Draco. Death seemed to think that Harry was okay with letting him die.

“If I can prevent that, I will keep him alive for as long as I can.”

Death sighed and shook his head, not entirely ready to argue over it. “You can’t. He needs to die.”

Harry crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. “You can’t just take him from me!” 

“I’m not.”

They were just running in circles. Death didn’t see something wrong with it and Harry wasn’t going to let go of Draco any time soon.

Groaning, Harry rolled his eyes. “Stop being so overly correct. You know what I’m talking about. I love him! He can’t just die on me!”

Death only looked at him, without saying much for a little time, until he finally relented. “I am afraid, I cannot change anything. Fate is fate. We’ve been through this, Paruluum. You can only change the red Glow of Death.”

That was what Death thought. Surely, there was something he could do. He didn’t need to tell his teacher anything yet. Maybe even Draco knew something. He had so many books, there needed to be something in there about the orange Glow of Death, right? Once he was back in his actual body, he needed to ask Draco that and find something.

Meanwhile, he turned around and looked at the world created here. “So, am I dead? Why am I here and where are we exactly?”

“This is the Realm of the Dead” Death explained, seemingly fine with them moving on from the previous topic. “The Greeks called it the underworld or nether regions.”

Harry smirked. “In their story; are you Hades?”

Death nodded weakly. “I am, yes. But unlike Hades, I would never give up a soul.”

“Some people come back after being dead, so… you do, basically.”

Now it was Death’s turn to smirk. “They were never dead. They were fighting for their life as well. Here, there are only dead souls. Some of them are lost; others have finally found peace after a hard life. As you know, we accept everyone here. They can be real here.”

Harry was quietly looking for any humans, or souls, but couldn’t find anything. He bit his lower lip and turned to look at Death again. “Is… Is Ginny here? And my parents? Can I see Sirius?!”

“That is why we are here. We’re going to meet everyone and I’ll show you around.” The white haired Immortal smiled at the landscape, as if he knew it all by heart. Which he probably did. “It’s rather pretty and there are definitely some beautiful places.”

“I honestly just want to see my late wife, my parents and everybody else who died during the war.” For now he wanted to be with them. Maybe another time, he could look at the land.

Death nodded. “I know. We’re on our way, Interposito. Don’t worry.”

They started walking up the hill, passing some beautiful trees and animals running alongside them, not scared of anything. There were lionesses and wolfs playing together with even some rare birds flying on the sky.

After a while, Harry smiled weakly. “Do you think Ginny’ll be mad that I'm pretending to be dead and I haven’t told our children?”

“Absolutely.”

Harry could only smirk, when he thought of his late wife. “Yeah, she’ll be furious.”


	60. Chapter 60

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I'm a little stressed, but I still found time to post this. I can't answer the comments today or tomorrow, though :) But I'll read them an I'll anwer as soon as I've got time :) Thank you and enjoy!

As soon as Harry had reached the top of the hill and found a beautiful spot to look down onto the Realm of the Dead, he heard a soft voice coming from his right. By now, Death had disappeared, probably back to the Realm of the Living to look for or work on something. So it wasn’t Death.

In fact, it was his mother. “You have grown so tall!”

“Mom!” Harry widened his eyes and ran over to where she was standing. She looked so young, though maybe that was because he had gotten older and she had stayed the same. Falling around her neck, he felt her laughing and she hugged him as well.

“Hello little Quidditch star! I’ve missed you. We haven’t talked in a while.” Lily smiled brightly and her red hair was billowing in the wind. She grabbed his hand and they walked down towards the little villages all over the place.

Harry smiled, feeling himself tear up. “Well, you have died a few decades ago.” The tears started falling and Harry carefully brushed them out of his face. He could see his mother again, talk to her without any restrictions!

Lily softly wiped a few more tears out of his face and smiled. “I know, darling. We still talked once you were at Hogwarts about every two years, didn’t we?” she smiled.

Harry nodded, remembering how often she had come up in conversations and that she had saved him multiple times over his studies at Hogwarts. “So where’s Dad?”

“Oh, you know him.” Her eyes were twinkling, when she motioned to the village they had just passed. “He’s out playing pranks on Dumbledore with Sirius and Remus. They have gotten so much worse ever since they have all reunited here.”

“And Dumbledore isn’t going to do anything against it?” Harry laughed, thinking that Dumbledore must be feeling as if he was back in Hogwarts. Though they had probably played more pranks on McGonagall, just because she was the Head of Gryffindor House.

Lily chuckled. “He tries to. But that hasn’t stopped any of these three in keeping him busy.”

Another voice sounded and Harry turned around to basically see himself, just without glasses – well currently, he also wasn’t wearing any glasses, so it was probably a perfect copy. Just a few years younger. “And I cannot wait until Professor McGonagall is here! This is going to be so much fun!”

“James, come on. Why would you do that?” Lily sighed and shook her head.

Harry grinned while his father answered. “Well, it’s fun. We’re not being evil towards McGonagall, once she’s here. She hasn’t done anything. But I just want to remind Dumbledore that since I’ve followed his advice, we actually died. If we hadn’t followed him…”

Lily interrupted him and rolled her eyes, so much like Hermione had usually done when Ron had said something she wasn’t happy with. “We still probably would have died.”

“Hi Dad” Harry said and effectively interrupted their discussion.

James smiled hugely and hugged Harry. “Hello there, son. You have grown so much!”

“I already said so” Lily commented.

“Oh excuse me, my queen” James raised his eyebrows, when he looked at his wife. “I’m sorry I’ve repeated what you already said. What topics have you two not talked about, so I don’t copy her sentence again?” he asked Harry.

He smirked. “Potions?”

James narrowed his eyes, while Lily laughed loudly. “Oh, you are an evil man!”

Before Harry even had time to comment, someone else was talking too. “Harry Potter!”

Harry whirled around and fell around Sirius’ neck. “Sirius! I’m so sorry!” He felt his godfather’s arm around him tightly and felt so much fear and stress falling from him.

“Sorry? What for, pup?” Sirius asked and when Harry stepped back he found a huge amount of worry in his eyes.

“I let you die in the Ministry! I couldn’t stop it and you were just _gone_!”

Sirius smiled sadly. “Pup, this isn’t your fault. I was there. I fought with you and I wasn’t watching. And someone’s death gives people around them the chance to grow. You did grow, pup. And look at who you’ve become.”

“Sirius is just proud that you’ve names Nathaniel after him. He’s his favorite.” Remus said walking up behind Sirius and effectively scaring him. Harry laughed and brushed more tears out of his face. All of his close family was here! How he had missed them all so terribly!

James smirked. “And Remus is mad that you haven’t named one of your children after him.”

Harry chuckled. “Hi Remus. And well, I wanted to give Teddy the freedom of potentially naming his children after you, should he want to. I also only had two sons, so…”

“See, I’ve told you there was a reason!” Lily turned to Remus and smiled broadly.

Before Harry could add something else, James turned back to him and raised his eyebrows. “But honestly what obscure names you’ve chosen for your children!”

“What do you mean? I love these names!” Harry shook his head.

Now, even Sirius seemed to be on James’ side. “Well Diana is the most normal name in your family right now. Isn’t Athena a goddess?” he asked.

“Yes, she’s the Greek Goddess of Wisdom and War” Harry answered and caught Sirius’ slightly confused look. He quickly continued: “And Diana by the way is a Roman Goddess of Wild Animals and Hunt. So not so normal anymore.”

James laughed. “Your two baby girls are names after goddesses?”

“Sure.” Harry nodded and decided to quickly move up to Nate. “Nathaniel is a Hebrew translation for ‘Gift of God’, but that’s not why we took this name. When I read Gin a few names from a list, she immediately fell in love with it and I started to like it as well.”

“Then do tell us about Thelonius. What kind of a curse is this name?!” James asked and received a shove from his wife.

“Hey!” Lily shook his head. She seemed to like the name.

James sighed. “Sorry, but be honest, love. Why is he called Thelonius?”

Before his mother could say anything else and there was a fight breaking out, Harry decided to explain what this name meant. “Powerful ruler of the people.” Harry smirked. “It’s a Germanic name and once again, Ginny loved it and I liked the sound of it. So we’ve called him that.”

Everyone was quiet and Harry grinned. They hadn’t asked about Kayja’s name yet. There surely was something to say there. All of the names were special, well apart from Diana and even Athena a little. But Harry had liked the idea of his two twin girls being names after goddesses, so this was perfectly fine.

“Since we’ve only got one more name to criticize, how about you ask your questions about Kayja?” Harry asked, leaving his family time to complain about her name.

And they didn’t miss a beat, when Remus grinned. “Why does she have a silent J? Wouldn’t it work just as fine to eliminate the J and keep it Kaya?”

“And what does it mean? I’m interested.” Sirius continued.

Harry shrugged his shoulders. “Well depending on where you look, it can be Scandinavian and Turkish: In Scandinavian it translates to ‘pure’ and in Turkish it means ‘rock’.”

“Are you good now?” Lily asked and turned to her husband. “Are we done criticizing Harry’s and Ginny’s choice of names?”

“Yes, thank you for the commentary on your children’s names” Remus answered, instead of James (who did in fact nod).

Harry laughed. This seemed to be more of a dream than anything else. “I am so happy to see all you!”

Sirius widened his eyes. “Wait, maybe I can even get Cedric! He’s staying with his family most of the time, but I’m sure we’ll get through?” he looked at James. However, before he could even say a word, Lily already shook her head.

“Okay, you two stay here. Last time you went even close to there, you almost set a fire.”

Rolling his eyes, Sirius sighed. “We all know that we’re all dead, Lily. Fire can’t hurt us anymore.”

James held up his hands and smirked. “Well, I think I should listen to my wife.”

“Smart man” Lily winked at him and Harry smirked.

Remus grinned and then turned back to Harry. “Oh and since you’re here, Gryffindor and Slytherin had wanted to talk to you for ages! Then again, maybe they can wait another few years... or decades.”

“What… Wait, the Hogwarts founders? Why would they want to talk to me?” Harry frowned and shook his head.

The whole group suddenly started walking and James walked next to Harry. “They have a bet going, or something. No one really understands.” He shrugged his shoulders.

Sirius chuckled and looked back over his shoulders. “I should ask Severus, he said he figured out what it entails, but I’ve already forgotten.”

“Well, before I would do something like that” Harry said, ignoring the casual way Sirius had talked about Snape, “I think I need to look for Ginny.”

“Sure.” Lily nodded and smiled weakly. “They’re by the ocean, most of the time.”

“They?” Harry frowned. What did that mean?

Luckily, James quickly explained: “Ginny and Fred.”

“Oh.”

How could he have forgotten his brother-in-law? Well no, he hadn’t forgotten him. Truth was that there had been so much pain and hurt during and especially after the Battle of Hogwarts, that Harry had continuously hid his emotions about it. Ginny had been the only person to ever get a word out of him about his feelings towards Hogwarts. And it only happened once.

Other than that, he had always accompanies Ginny to the grave of her brother, but once she had died… He felt too guilty to even go near that place.

Walking down towards the ocean, the whole group passed so many people who all seemed to be incredibly happy. Harry suddenly found himself face to face to two people he had known briefly.

“Harry Potter?” the tall man said who resembled Harry quite a bit. If he hadn’t known it better, he would have said he was his son. But well, his son was tall and blond, not with unruly black hair.

The other man widened his eyes. This man now was blond and very muscular. “Auror Potter! What happened, did you die? Did we solve the case?”

“Trainee Aurors Morton and Chester” Harry greeted them with a weak smile. It still hurt him that two very promising Trainee Aurors had to die during a stupid Neo Death Eater raid of St. Mungo’s. “I’m still trying to solve the case. I’m sorry.”

“What for?” Morton asked and smiled encouragingly. “I’ve always wanted to die a hero! I’m pretty sure trying to fight Neo Death Eaters can be counted as dying a hero.”

“How was our funeral?” Chester grinned and shoved Morton playfully.

Harry sighed. “I didn’t go. Sorry. I felt rather guilty for taking you with me. The two of you died and Trainee Auror Acker lost her mind during that attack.”

Chester nodded. “She did seem a little too weak for a job like that.”

“I think I’ve actually seen her around here” Morton looked around and shrugged his shoulders then. “It could have also just been her mother.”

“The point is” Chester grinned. “The point is, Auror Potter, it’s not your fault. Life and death is a cycle and I know for a fact that my little brother will learn not to be foolish due to my early death.”

Harry sighed. “It shouldn’t be like that.”

Morton laughed and actually most of Harry’s friends and family joined, while Chester shrugged his shoulders.

“Fate is fate, Mr. Potter” Morton said and waved. “Have fun solving the case!”

When they were gone, Harry sighed and they all continued walking down the hill towards the ocean. However, once again, Harry was stopped. This time it was by three children. Adley Yorke, Eileen Rowley and Samantha Dayton.

It hurt Harry slightly to see his daughter’s best friends, knowing how much death she had seen over the course of this year and that he was now giving them even more. He really hoped that Luna was quick in publishing her newspaper, just so that they wouldn’t freak out for too long.

“Hello Mr. Potter” Samantha greeted him and smiled. “It’s nice to see you again.”  
Eileen, who looked a lot like Kayja – so much so that they had sometimes pretended to be twins – frowned. “Did you die too? How did we die?”

Harry frowned. “I believe it was a magical object that made you forget what happened around you. Someone used that to keep you busy while they abducted Sammy.”

Samantha smiled a little guilty when Eileen turned to look at her friend. Adley pulled her hair up and shrugged her shoulders. “That would make a lot of sense actually. I wish I could have stayed around a little longer, but on the other hand…” she smiled as if there were some happy memories around.

“Anyway” Samantha turned to him, as if she wanted to change topics definitely now. “How’s Kay?”

Now it was Harry who had to smile sheepishly. “I believe she’s doing fine. I haven’t found much time to spend with my children as of lately. I’m trying to keep them save.”

Nodding, Samantha looked him straight in the eyes. “Tell her I said hi.”

“Sure.”

Before the girls could walk away, Harry stopped them and frowned at Samantha’s arm. There was the symbol he had seen so many times. It was the snake biting its own tail. He had always assumed that her body had the Dark Mark on it. Though maybe that wasn’t the case. Actually, it looked close to a Dark Mark, but now that Harry actually saw it in the light of a beautiful day, he knew better.

“What happened there?” Harry asked, pointing at the Ouroboros. 

Samantha frowned and looked at it, before she smiled softly. “That’s how I died.”

Harry frowned. “I thought Addison Tyndall got you?”

“Well, she gave us the Dark Mark, but soon after she left us to die, this man showed up and he somehow changed my mark into that thing” she gestured to her arm. “It’s the symbol of death and re-birth. So I like it.”

He didn’t really want to believe it. Could it be? Could it have been Ainsworth? “Was he an older guy and balding? With…”

Samantha nodded and interrupted him. “He was wearing an official Auror’s robe. If he wanted to conceal his identity, he had no idea how to do it well enough. I’ve seen him in pictures. He’s your boss.”

Harry shook his head, unsure of what to do with this information. But he was glad he had it. Maybe in the future there was something he could do with it.

“Thank you, Sammy.”

While the girls walked away, Harry wondered how he should tell his daughter that her dead girlfriend told him to give her a ‘hi’. It was probably best to just ignore it. On the other hand… if he thought that he needed to give his daughter a word from her late girlfriend, maybe that would motivate him to stay alive while he walked around the Realm of the Dead.

Sirius stepped in front of his view and smirked. “Onward?”

Harry nodded and Lily pointed to the water. “She’s over there. We’ll be here again to say bye, honey.”

With that almost everyone walked away and Harry breathed in deeply. He could do this. He had done so many other and much more scary things, meeting his dead wife shouldn’t even be so hard.

But it was…

Without trying to overthink it, Harry started walking and soon stopped next to the two redheads. “Hello.”

He had never seen Ginny turn around so quickly. She looked so young and healthy. So much better than the last time he had seen her. Her eyes darted over him as if she was assessing whether or not she was dreaming – if that was even possible in the Land of the Dead.

Frowning, Ginny shook her head. “Harry? What are you doing here? What happened?”

“I’m… crime fighting.” Harry wanted to roll his eyes over his stupid comment, but it was already too late.

Next to her, Fred got up and before she could say anything, she stepped forwards. “How’s George?”

Smiling weakly, Harry turned to him. “Good. You do know that he called his son after you, right?”

Fred rolled his eyes, though it was clear to Harry that he wasn’t against this name. “I know. It’s beautiful and he does look a little like me.”

“He also looks like George” Harry smirked.

Ginny interrupted them and frowned at Harry. “Harry, what are you talking about. Crime Fighting? Where are our children?”

“Safe. At Hogwarts.”

The silence that followed was almost full of unsaid things. Most of this coming from Ginny, who looked at Harry a little accusatory. In all honestly, he probably would have looked at her the same way, had she told him what he had just said.

Finally, Ginny sighed. “They don’t know what you did, do they?”

“No.”

Fred held up his hands and bid goodbye. “Okay, I will leave you two for a talk and find James for some pranks on Dumbledore.”

While he walked away, Ginny shook her head and ignored what her brother had said. “Harry, you are terrible! Do you know what you did? They will be destroyed when they hear you’ve died! And before you start, yes I know you’re the Master of Death and you probably cannot die. You should have told them what was going on!”

“They will find out, Gin” Harry tried to argue, though he knew he was standing on thin ice. “Luna’s going to give them a secret message, telling them that I am still here!”

“That doesn’t change anything!” Ginny crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows.

Harry sighed and nodded. “You’re right.” Before he could say more to prove the point that he had to do that to win a war, Ginny already interrupted him.

“Of course I am right.”

“But I needed to do something quickly. They were going to hurt Draco.” Harry shook his head, already knowing that this point wouldn’t stand a chance in Ginny’s court room.

Ginny shook her head. “Harry, I know for a fact, that Hermione would have figured something out.”

Yes, but this was going too slow. Harry had wanted to save Draco now. Not in a few months, when it was possibly already too late. But then again… Draco was glowing orange, so maybe there was no saving him anymore…

“I’m sorry, Gin. I just didn’t stop to think.”

Nodding, Ginny offered a sad smile. “I know. You better make it up to our children, Harry. They now think that both of us are dead. They’re orphans right now.”

“At least they’ve got each other.”

Ginny sighed and beckoned him closer to the water. “Come and look.”

Harry walked towards the water and they had an insight into McGonagall’s office. It was as if they were floating in the upper corner of the room and they had clear view of the people inside. Actually, it was all of their children. Harry could recognize Kay’s yellow school uniform, standing next to Diana’s Slytherin green uniform. Kay was hugging Athena who was in tears while Thelo put his hands on Nate’s shoulders, who stared at the floor. Only after a few seconds fighting his urges, he turned around, hugging his brother, tears in his eyes.

Ginny smiled sadly and looked at Harry. “They’re so strong.”

Unable to say anything, Harry only nodded and brushed a tear out of his face. If at any time he doubted that what he was doing was correct, it was now.

“And so are you, love.” Ginny cupped his cheeks and smiled softly. “Go back and fight these idiots once and for all, so our babies can go back to having a family again. I will be with you every step of the way.”

“I know you are.” Harry placed a kiss on her forehead. “Thank you for not criticizing me and Draco.”

“There is absolutely nothing to criticize there, love. We both know you’ve got it bad for him.” Ginny chuckled and hugged him, before letting go.

*

> **The Savior Found Dead**
> 
> _by Rita Skeeter_
> 
> Yesterday night at ten o’clock, locals of a small village in the Scottish Highlands had been caught by surprise when our Savior, Harry James Potter, age 41, was found dead close by. Reportedly, Potter had wanted to get to the bottom of a secret graveyard, where Voldemort had been buried. One can only guess what he found; however, the ending reveals that it wasn’t something good.
> 
> Head Auror of the recently dispersed Auror Department, Aaron Ainsworth, called it a tragedy of unforeseen circumstances. “There are so many open questions,” he said and explained his hope on getting the Ministry back to its former glory. “Harry James Potter had been the key for that.”
> 
> According to the Ministry’s leading magical pathologist, Zora Kline, Potter must have been dead in a matter of seconds. It’s not a secret as to what had caused it. “Even in death, his body was in great shape. There were no cuts, no bruises and no blood anywhere. He just didn’t have any pulse and his breathing was gone. The only thing we could deduct from it was the Killing Curse,” so Kline.
> 
> The Killing Curse is still being used by the former Dark Lord’s followers, even though he is dead. The Ministry has been in a secret fight with the so called Neo Death Eaters for almost ten years and it seems as if it has finally reached a boiling point.
> 
> According to former Death Eater who had been falsely reported to be dead, Draco Lucius Malfoy, who had been monitoring the magical autopsy, there were a few other things that could have ended the Savior’s life like that. “Hypothetically, there are a few toxic plants that can easily be confused for other non-toxic ones that could kill with even a touch.” However, Malfoy does have his own theory: “When Harry was found, there was green powder on the floor. We’ve seen this powder appear in the last few years, attacking Aurors, and couldn’t trace it back to anything, yet. I believe this has something to do with Harry’s death,” he said.
> 
> Sadly, the Prophet hasn’t had any luck in finding out what this powder has been, as even Kline denies having seen anything on the Savior. It could have been just pollen from some of the magical plants in the Scottish Highlands. Senior research staff at the United Kingdom Research Institution of Magical Plants confirmed it could be the dark blue ‘Diamond Sun’, which has light green pollen. “’Diamond Sun’ is one of the rarest flowers and has a high value and demand on black markets,” confirmed Paul Rogers, specialist on Magical Flowers. “They can also be used to kill, but the toxic part of the flower is hard to extract.”
> 
> Whatever is the cause of Harry Potter’s death, the Ministry hasn’t figured it out, yet. Unfortunately, Potter’s children haven’t been able to comment on his death. So, the people are left to wonder what took place in the Scottish Highlands yesterday.


	61. Chapter 61

“I didn’t think I’d see you again so soon.” Harry smiled as he found Death sitting by the ocean alone. They were still in the Land of the Dead though for some reason the spirits had all left the area where Death was. Maybe it was the dark vibes that were emitted by the Immortal that drew them away.

Argui Dawjan chuckled. “Well, I believe it is time to tell you that you’re almost ready. I think you’ve heard and found a few confusing things over the time of our partnership, so I’m here to finally answer all of your questions.”

Harry huffed and turned to the waves. “Wow, I never would have thought something like that would happen.”

“Frankly, it never happened before.”

Smirking, Harry sat down next to the immortal being and watched silently as the waves broke on the shore and rushed back the water’s original form. “There are quite a few questions. I think you’ve told me a lot of things that in the end contradict each other.”

Death chuckled and nodded. “Possibly true. You see, as a beginner of Death Magic, I couldn’t just let you know everything. So what is it you would like to know first?”

“The Touch of Death. Does it exist?”

“Perfect question. No.” Death shook his head.

Harry frowned and turned back to the ocean. “But I thought I’d killed Hermione’s baby through the Touch of Death?”

Death once again shook his head. “You didn’t. Her baby wasn’t supposed to live. It was fate. Sadly, you can’t see whether or not infants in their mother’s womb are chosen by fate or are just dying because something else is going on. Fact is, the Touch of Death doesn’t exist.”

That was interesting. Even Draco thought that the Touch of Death existed. Maybe it was easier to tell someone who’s trying to be the next Master of Death that so they didn’t try to stop every death they came across.

“Why is pure magic hurtful to us?” Harry changed the subject and turned back to Death.

“Because it’s pure.” Death shrugged his shoulders and looked as if Harry had just asked him to explain why trees were brown. “Nothing in its normal form is pure and we out of every human being know the truth. So the knowledge is actually the thing hurting us.”

Harry nodded. “Can I die as Death?”

“Yes. Your body will die, so will you.”

“No” Harry chuckled and rephrased what he wanted to ask. “I meant, can I die through murder and still be Death.”

“Oh. Yes of course. I just wanted to make you stop killing yourself.” Death grinned. “In fact, you are an Immortal for as long as your body works. Once you think it’s time to move on, you can leave your body behind and become an actual immortal being.”

Harry nodded and decided to ask the question that he had ever since he had seen Sammy with an Ouroboros on her body. “Was Ainsworth once a student to become Master of Death?”

Death faced Harry and nodded slowly. “Yes. He was supposed to be the Master of Death about ten years before you were born. The shadows didn’t trust him and he quickly fell out of favor. Everything he tried, he did out of a twisted ideal to better the human world. I think he wanted to be a human boogeyman.”

“Okay, so if the Touch of Death isn’t real, then why did Samantha have the Ouroboros on her arm where he clearly touched him? That sounds a lot like the Touch of Death.”

“Well, the Touch of Death as you think it should be doesn’t exist” Death frowned. “What does exist is a mark on all the people Death has changed the fate of. It might be small, hidden under a scar or somewhere they’d never look, but everyone around you has got one.”

Harry shook his head. “But Ainsworth’s not a Master of Death anymore?”

“His magic has still changed, as has yours” Death said and pushed a few lose white strains of hair of his face. “I cannot reverse this. Once magic is changed, it will stay this way.”

That was interesting and finally offered something new! Harry smirked and nodded. “So, basically, what you’re telling me is that there’s a very simple way of destroying him.” Harry grinned triumphantly and got up.

“How so?” Death frowned and looked at Harry as if he had lost his mind.

Harry winked at him and shook his head. “Oh, you’re going to like this! I won’t tell and since you can’t read my mind in here it actually is going to be a surprise. I hope you’ll like what I’m about to plan right now.”

*

“Oh, I have never been happier to see you opening your eyes!”

Harry smiled weakly and opened his eyes again, looking at Draco hovering over his head. He was no longer glowing black; however, the orange Glow of Death was still there. One thing at a time. Draco had apparently taken him back to Grimmauld Place 12.

“I don’t think I’ve never done something so stupid before” Harry said quietly and grinned. “Did it work?”

Draco smirked and nodded. “Yes. I’m part of the Neo Death Eaters and Ainsworth’s even told me that he couldn’t believe I’ve actually killed you. He was apparently looking forward to killing me.”

Harry snorted. “Who hasn’t?”

For this comment, he received a shove from Draco and laughed. The door was suddenly opened and Hermione walked in, followed by Ron. Harry sighed. This discussion was something he had not been looking forward to. Apparently, neither was Draco, as he quickly looked at Harry and shrugged his shoulders apologetically.

“See you later, Harry.”

 _Coward_ , Harry sent into Draco’s head, over which he smirked, but again shrugged his shoulders as if he wanted to tell Harry that he was right.

Hermione sat down by a chair and sighed. “We need to talk.”

“Yeah, mate! Why did you do it?!” Ron interrupted Hermione who had just wanted to start her probably well thought out speech.

“It was the plan I thought could work the easiest” Harry answered.

Hermione shook her head disapprovingly. “Do you know what your children are going through?!”

Harry nodded. “I saw them. Ginny even agreed that they’re strong. And it won’t be forever! Actually, I’ve found a way of destroying Ainsworth in the other Realm.”

“What are you talking about?!” Ron asked and Harry wordlessly smirked, getting up.

“Is everyone here?” Harry asked then, when he grabbed his favorite t-shirt. Hermione sighed but nodded. “Good. I think I know where we can go from here.”

He hurried down the stairs, Hermione and Ron following curiously and still slightly confused. Not that he blamed them; he would be confused by that as well.

The living room was bustling with noise. Next to the ruffling of papers, being handed out by Luna, Angelina and Cho, the low discussions from Hannah and Susan and the screeching noise of a black marker drawing on the map by Lee and George, Harry could also make out Draco talking to Dean, Seamus and Katie.

When Harry entered, everyone suddenly seemed to be quiet. “Right.” Harry smiled at all of them. “Anything happened while I was gone?”

Dean pointed to the map Lee was drawing on. “A former Auror was also investigating the Neo Death Eaters and found another nest. He attacked them, but they got him first. People are freaking out over it.”

Ron shook his head and turned to Harry. “And what is your new information?”

Smirking, Harry nodded. “I found out how to harm Ainsworth. His magic was changed so that a certain kind of magic actually harms him to the point where he can’t do anything else anymore. We’re thinking he’s the Neo Death Eater’s leader, right? If he’s hurt, they might stop fighting.”

“How can you hurt him?” Draco asked and frowned.

“We perform a Magic Emitters Process on him with pure magic.”

Hermione shook her head. “Pure magic hurts everyone if you’re standing in it for longer than what, four minutes?”

“Five minutes” Ron and Draco corrected her without thinking too much about it and Harry smirked over Hermione being corrected by Ron especially. It hadn’t happened often and when it did, they usually started a huge fight.

Grinning, Harry nodded. “Yes, normal people have problems with pure magic, however, since his magic has been changed, he cannot even withstand it for thirty seconds. If you don’t have proper protection, you probably freeze up.

Lee looked up from the map and grinned. “So we only need to find him, point that thing at him and he’s toast?”

“Pretty much.”

Dean raised his eyebrows. “Amazing. What do we do now?”

“How far have we come with the potential headquarters?” Harry asked instead and looked at the group huddled around the map. Angelina smirked.

“We’ve got it down to three places. Two in Scotland and one in Ireland. But if we’re looking for Ainsworth, he could just as well be in the Ministry” she explained and shrugged her shoulders.

Nodding, Harry frowned. “We’ll separate. If we attack one headquarter after the other, the news might travel. First things first, Luna is your article ready?”

Luna agreed. “Tomorrow, it’s being published. The newspaper will be sent to every student and professor in Hogwarts, so there should be someone who can figure out what the secret code is.”

“Perfect.” Harry smiled. “For now, headquarter one is in…” he looked to Angelina for some help and she quickly provided the name of the closest city.

“Edinburgh.”

Harry sighed. “… in Edinburgh. Ron, Lee, George, Cho, Hermione and Angelina, you look into that place. Place two is in” he looked at the map and rolled his eyes, “Loch Ness. Hannah, Susan, Katie, Neville and I will be looking into this place. That leaves Dean, Seamus and Draco.”

Looking at the man he was in love with, he smiled. “Draco, I cannot let you go out and fight the Neo Death Eaters. Ainsworth trusts you now to some degree. And Dean and Seamus, I need you to go into the Ministry, just to keep an eye out for Ainsworth should he go there.”

The two Ministry workers nodded.

Hermione frowned. “What’s with the headquarter in Ireland? Do we just ignore it?”

“For now, yes.” Harry sighed. “I’m hoping we’ll find Ainsworth before we need to go there. Get yourself ready, everyone. We’re leaving for the headquarters a few hours before the sun’s up, tomorrow.”

Everyone walked off, except for Hermione, Ron, Draco and Neville. Luna had floo’d back to her newspaper to check up on delivery and that literally only left a handful of people in the living room.

“Are you sure, Harry?” Ron asked, though you could see his excitement of finally hopefully destroying the Neo Death Eater once and for all. Nodding, Harry smiled and seemed to calm down Ron as he grabbed a book and walked out with Hermione in tow.

Neville grinned when he looked at Harry and raised his eyebrows. “I’ve got another idea, Harry. I introduced myself to the Coven of War, yesterday. And I think they can help you here as well.”

“What do you mean?” Harry asked.

“If we get them involved as well, I’m pretty sure we could end all of this shit quicker. They know some pretty amazing things” Neville offered.

Harry sighed. “But that would mean, telling the others that I’m the Master of Death.”

Draco snorted. “They already know that I’ve killed you. They do think that some potion was involved for you not to die, but I’m pretty sure all of them suspect something’s going on.”

While all of them were quiet for a few moments, Harry thought of what was holding him back from telling his friends who he was. Apart from some weird looks, they were probably okay.

“Fine. But I need you to fight in Loch Ness, Neville. And they can’t be seen tomorrow. I don’t have any more time explaining what I’ve been turned into.”

“Not to worry, Harry. I’ve got you covered” Neville grinned and grabbed his jacket, heading out the door.

Draco pulled a small device out of his pocket and held it towards Harry. “That’s the portable pure magic station I’ve created while I was working in the Ministry.” He smirked. “I wanted to have a reminder of my success. I’ll give Hermione the other. Just make sure to be careful.”

Harry accepted it and smirked. “I’m always careful.”

“Yeah right” Draco said, when he was long out the door.

This was going to be an interesting next day. Hopefully, everything went okay…

*

> **A Tribute to Harry Potter**
> 
> _by Luna Lovegood_
> 
> Harry Potter has changed all of our lives ever synce he was a baby. He was thrown into a world that was unkind to him from the beginning. Voldemort having killed his parents and then choosing to koll a baby. He survived the very first attempt on his life when he was fifteen munths old.
> 
> His aunt and uncle were abusiver, using him as a cheap worker, by not paying him even a Knut. He was basically a House Elf without knowing it. And while his cousin lived in a room, there is a rumor that for the first few years of his life, Harry Potter lived in a cupboard under the stairs. He never confirmed id, but most rumors started from a true source.
> 
> The next few attempts an his life happened all throughout Hogwarts. Voldemort continuously found a way to ged to Harry Potter and to make his life a living hell. Only in fourth year, had he realized what it meant – by the death of Hufflepuff’s own Cedric Digory – that the Dark Lord was back.
> 
> And then, there are still countless rumors on what actually happened in Harry Potter’s seventh year at Hogwarts, which we all know he spent travelling around the UK. And freeing that poor dragin from Gringott’s.
> 
> Nobody will evers forget what Harry Potter gave us: our freedom. He made the Wizarding World a better world. A world where Muggleborn witches and wizards could liva next to each other without problems. Where the house you were blought up in doesn’t matter, because we all fought in the war together.
> 
> Bi sacrificing his life, he gave us one in return. So let us all not cry for his loss, but celebrate his legacy. The Boy Who Lived was more than just a vairy tale. He was a hero. Our Savior. Rest in peace, Harry Potter and thank you from the bottem of our hearts.


	62. Chapter 62

It seemed as if nobody had been able to sleep, as they gathered in the kitchen bright and early, hours before the sun had come up again. The air was crisp and the wind howled through the slightly opened window, when Harry closed it and turned to his friends.

“Battle plan” he looked at them earnestly. “If you don’t see Ainsworth, try to take out as many Neo Death Eaters as possible, but stay protected. As soon as your protection runs out, leave.” He gave his friends a Muggle time stopper. “You’ve got forty five minutes. Once this timer runs out, head back. You’re only one hundred percent save again in Grimmauld Place 12.”

Hermione nodded and accepted it, leading her crew outside. Harry motioned his group to follow and they quickly apparated to a spot named on the map. In fact, it was a small house beside the loch. It was incredibly small, almost only made for one person, though Harry was sure that once again there was probbaly a cellar underneath. In the dark, Harry sadly couldn't make out anything else and they snuck almost in complete darkness into the house, Hannah and Susan pointed at. Harry let the edges of his mind wander, looking for someone who was still awake. Everyone seemed to be asleep. For now.

Nodding, Katie opened the door silently and they quickly found the door to the Neo Death Eater meetings. Opening it softly, Harry peeked through it and opened it wider. The huge room under the earth was filled with about twenty Neo Death Eaters, all wearing the typical clothes. Some were sleeping on the floor, some were talking in a low voice, others were lighting up the fire again. It seemed as if Harry’s power hadn’t detected the ones underground. Well, it didn’t seem too bad.

Neville, Hannah and Katie walked away to the other side of the hall, leaving Harry and Susan at the corner of the door. Within a few seconds, Harry caught Hannah glowing red and turned to look at the woman staring at them.

“It’s time” he whispered – Susan nodded – and pressed the timer, effectively cancelling the Death Curse on Hannah and he walked towards a woman, looking at the fire.

“Excuse me, could you tell me…” He wasn’t able to finish his sentence, as the already suspicious woman pointed at Hannah and screeched.

“Spy! She’s not a Death Eater! Spy!”

Harry sighed and grabbed the woman next to his, effectively stopping time a little. Even though he had told his friends to take out as many Neo Death Eaters as possible and find Ainsworth, he still needed to do his duty and find people ready for death.

Within seconds, spells and colorful curses flashed through the hall. The dimly lit earth colored walls sparkled with all the different lights. Shadows rushed along – the ones with bodies and the ones without. Harry ducked away from a curse coming his way and got a hold of the person next to him, placing a death curse upon him. The next one seemed extremely skilled and Harry just about had enough time to stop the time and give him the gift of life, before he threw him off and almost cast a curse into his face. Neville disarmed him quickly and he ran off into the shadows.

“Thanks.” Harry grabbed his wand and continued, jumping from person to person between protecting himself and his friends, and choosing what suited them best. Sadly, most of the sleeping people had gotten the death sentence since almost a third of the fighting Neo Death Eaters was just throwing curses, not caring where they landed.

This whole attack lasted for ten minutes, maybe twelve. But it was over so soon that Harry and his friends stood in the empty hall slightly confused. Ainsworth was nowhere to be seen.

“So, he must be at the other headquarter!” Susan deducted and brushed some dirt from her sleeve.

Katie shrugged her shoulders. “Or the Ministry.”

Harry sighed and turned around when he suddenly found himself in front of a few other people. Hannah quickly raised her wand against them, when Neville pushed it back down and shook his head. Susan hadn’t been as lucky, as she put her wand up and got pushed back by an invisible magical wall. It didn't surprise Harry that the Coven of War had powerful magic. They actually all looked very much like a coven from the TV or something. They were wearing black hooded cloaks with deep pockets. If Harry hadn't known them, he would have probably assumed that they were the second base of Neo Death Eaters.

“Who are you?” Katie spoke up and narrowed her eyes.

The man who had greeted Harry by the door of his meeting, when Harry had first found them an introduced himself, walked forwards, wand slightly raised and spoke for his group. “We’re the Coven of War.”

Hannah snorted. “A coven? Like these old witchy things from Muggle books? Great. Are you on the Neo Death Eater’s side?!”

John looked at Harry, slightly confused, and shook his head then. “We’re on the Master of Death’s side. Whatever side he’s on, we’re on.”

Susan frowned. “You’re confusing fairy tales. The Master of Death isn’t real!”

“Guys, we’re heading back” Harry turned to his friends. He needed to somehow break these people apart and tell them in a safer spot what was going on. “Hanna, send a Patronus to Hermione that we haven’t found anyone, Katie, I need you to go and get Dean and Seamus. We’re meeting in Grimmauld Place in fifteen minutes. I’ll explain everything there.”

They needed to get the other headquarter in Ireland tonight, otherwise the news could spread and Ainsworth could be anywhere by then. Hesitantly, Hanna and Katie left, Susan apparated away as well and Harry turned to his Coven.

“The night is long right now. We’re heading over to Ireland. I hope you’re prepared to travel.”

John nodded. “If you need us, we’ll follow you wherever you lead us.”

Harry smiled. “It will only be for today. Hopefully, everything’s over by the morning and you can go back to your lives.”

A younger witch frowned at looked at Harry questioningly. “Are you going to dispend the Coven of War once you’ve defeated the Neo Death Eaters?”

“No” Harry smiled. “But I won’t be asking you to follow me around for a full night after that. If that’s alright with you?”

“Yes” she smiled. “I just finally found friends here and I didn’t want to let go of them so soon again.”

Harry chuckled and nodded. “Don’t worry about that. The Coven can stay for as long as I am around.” With that he apparated them all to Grimmauld Place, while Neville rushed off to do something else. He did already know what the plan was and he also already knew Harry’s secret, which he was going to tell Dumbledore's Army. So Harry decided to let him do whatever he needed to do right now, without asking or calling after him.

About twenty minutes later, Harry found Dumbledore’s Army and his Coven of War in the living room, separated in two sides. Looking from group to group, Harry sighed and rubbed his temples. He found Draco walking into the room and that seemingly was all the courage he needed to start talking.

“I haven’t been very honest with most of you” he turned to Dumbledore’s Army. “There’s a reason why I know almost too much and why Draco could kill me without actually killing me.”

George and Lee frowned at him as if they didn’t believe a word he was saying and Hermione smiled encouragingly. He just needed to say what needed to be said.

“I am the Master of Death and this is my Coven of War.”


	63. Chapter 63

“You’ll never believe what happened!” Neville rushed into the room, after everyone had finally calmed down and stopped asking questions Harry couldn’t answer. After almost thirty minutes, they had finally stopped asking questions and started preparing for the upcoming fight in Ireland. The Coven had taken up all the space in his attic and the other groups could be found all over the house. Harry had given them another fifteen minutes time to prepare; before they would floo to a family member of Katie’s and go to the last remaining Head Quarter of the Neo Death Eaters. Looking up at Neville, Harry frowned and shook his head.

“What happened?” Harry asked.

Neville inhaled deeply and coughed. “Hogwarts was attacked! That was why we haven’t found Ainsworth anywhere, he attacked Hogwarts!”

“Shit! Is everyone okay, do we need to go there?” Harry widened his eyes. And he had told Ginny that their children would be safe there! How foolish of him to think that Ainsworth hadn’t seen his biggest weakness: his children were everything to him.

“No, some student recognized Ainsworth and Kingsley is currently there, looking after things.” Neville sighed. “But McGonagall died. Professor Sprout called me and luckily, none of our children were harmed.”

Harry shook his head, though before he could say something, another voice sounded from the door and Hermione basically ran into the room. “Fuck! Wait, is she the only one to die?”

Neville nodded. “Yeah.” His stressed face suddenly changed into a smirk. “Apparently, there’s a group of students who have secretively been training to defend themselves against all evil.”

“My children, right?” Harry sighed. Of course they would take his irresponsible actions as a way of going through life. He needed to talk to them once this whole mess was over.

Neville grinned. “Yes. They called themselves the Young DA and they’re being led by Thelo and Kay. Apparently half of the student corps has been in there, including Winter and Gracie, and they fought so well that the Neo Death Eaters had to retrieve after half an hour. Sixty are currently sitting in Azkaban” he explained.

Dean walked in behind Hermione and laughed out loud. “Holy shit! Are you serious? So, that means there are only a handful of Neo Death Eaters left! Did Rachel and William fight as well? Oh I need to tell Seamus…”

Nodding, Neville smirked. “Oh yeah! Additionally, Kingsley has shut down what Ainsworth wanted to start, he let go all of the Ministry Guards under Ainsworth’s will and even said he was going to re-start the Aurors, seeing that is was Ainsworth who was the corrupt idiot.”

“He probably hasn’t said it like that” Harry smirked.

“These were his exact words” Neville pointed into the air and looked at Harry. “So, are we going to finish what we started and get Ainsworth arrested or killed tonight? This nightmare has to stop and we both know where he went after he attacked Hogwarts.”

Harry nodded. “Ireland. We’re leaving in about seven minutes. Are you ready?”

“I’ve never been more prepared.”

Dean grinned and spoke up as well. “Since Ainsworth doesn’t really know we’re on to him, he could have also hidden in the Ministry. I thought, Seamus and I could go back and systematically check the whole building.”

Agreeing, Harry turned to him. “Take Ron and Susan with you for protection.”

Hermione handed Dean the little device Draco had invented, probably just in case they would meet him there, though Harry was somehow sure Ainsworth would try and leave the island as quickly as possible, especially, since a child could identify him. He was probably not going to go back into the place where everyone was looking for him.

Though… everyone thought the same of him, when he had gone into the Ministry while being Number 1 desirable.

Dean left to go and find Seamus, Susan and Ron, while Hermione walked into the kitchen to get a coffee and whatever else she had intended.

“Five minutes until we leave!” Harry called through the house and grabbed his jacket, when Draco walked into the room.

“You got a minute?” he asked and grabbed Harry to walk away from the fireplace. Before Harry could even answer, Draco placed his Ouroboros back in his hands.

Harry frowned and looked up at the Slytherin who was still glowing orange. Though before he could even think of something to say, Draco was continuing speaking.

“Darling, there’s a reason why I can’t keep this. You know” he sighed and looked away for a few seconds. “I am the Master of Life. I’ve been studying her way of living just as you have studied Death. When I realized I can hear Death, Life decided not to talk around you, so I’m not sure you’ve ever heard her, but…”

“I’ve been really careful” a soft almost angelic voice sounded from the air and Harry widened his eyes. He had in fact heard it once again, but it seemed ages ago, when they both had been in an elevator to talk to Kingsley.

Shaking his head, Harry needed a second to get over this new information. “Is that why you’re glowing orange? It’s fate that you die?”

Nodding weakly, Draco smiled. “That’s how it’s supposed to be. I protect the living from the Realm of the Dead and you protect the Dead from the Realm of the Living. Yin and Yang, you know?”

“Shit.” Harry sighed. He had really wanted to be able to safe Draco, to live a happy life with him and have no cares. Why did he need to die? And how fast was his death approaching?

Before they could talk more about it, Dean and his group arrived in the living room. “We’re heading out, everyone. Take care!” he called out and they left through the floo.

Harry smiled at Draco, before letting go and walking to the shadows. _Keep an eye on them, please._

 **If you wish, my brothers will be looking after them. But I’ll stay with you** , Zil answered.

By then, Hermione walked back in and dragged a group of Dumbledore Army members behind her as well as almost everyone of the coven.

“Time to go” Draco said and nodded, while Katie left through the floo, giving everyone a way to follow her safely to Ireland.

*

It didn’t surprise Harry that there was another person trying to get his attention. Well, no. ‘Person’ wasn’t the right word: Argui Dawjan aka Death had appeared at the same time Harry had walked out of the fire place and shown him a lopsided grin.

Harry decided that he didn’t want to look even weirder that he was probably already looking to his friends, so he spoke to his teacher through his mind. _How can I help you, Death?_

Death chuckled and shook his head. “You have passed another level, Amator. I didn’t think you’d have time to talk in my realm, which is why I’ve decided to visit you.”

Widening his eyes, Harry stepped away from the fire place, where a few others just walked out and shook his head. _Are you telling me that I only have one more level to complete?_

“That is in fact exactly what I am trying to tell you.”

Harry shook his head again and walked outside, looking at the still dark sky. He waited there for his friends to arrive and felt Death following his every step. Since no one was outside right now, Harry spoke in his normal voice. “But I haven’t been able to deal with the Malfoy’s. I don’t like that they’re immortal and gave away their son for that.”

Death chuckled and shook his head. “I know. I’ve decided to ask Life for a favor and she eliminated their immortality. They’re normal now.”

“You can talk to Life?” Harry frowned and turned to Death, realizing that someone was almost out of the door, following him. _So, can I talk to Draco when he’s dead?_

“Not exactly. But there are ways.”

After a few moments, where Harry silently thought about how he would be able to discuss things with a dead Draco, almost everyone had left the house. Zil led the way and Harry followed the shadow to where the headquarter was hopefully placed. Luckily, since the moon was shining, Harry had no problem tracking his friend. Though, for some reason, he was even able to see the shadow surrounded by darkness. 

Harry glanced at Death who was silently walking next to him. _So, what’s the last level? You said you’d tell me when it was time._

“It’s not time yet.”

Scoffing, Harry shook his head. _So when is it?_

“Well” Death chuckled. “I just don’t believe that you should think about something like that when you’re going to fight the last remaining Neo Death Eaters in a few minutes. Also, it wouldn’t do you good to know. You just have to trust me on this.”

 _Sure._ Harry smirked and shook his head.

Draco walked up next to Harry and placed his hand in his. “These immortals beings are a huge pain, aren’t they?”

“Hey!” two voices called out and Harry snorted over Death’s outraged expression.

Before he had any time to say something, Zil suddenly stopped him and grinned wickedly. **We’re here. The problem is: It’s another small town.**


	64. Chapter 64

“Shit.”

Harry looked over the little town, which was one again too big for them to take down. Last time, Harry had walked into a situation like this, Draco had decided to take him hostage and it almost worked out. Maybe this time it could work as well?

As if Draco’d had the same thought, he turned to them. “I’ll go in first, check out the place and let you know if I find Ainsworth inside.”

“And if he’s not?” Lee asked and frowned.

“Then we know he’s in the Ministry. I’ll just come back out and we apparate to the Ministry entrance and help Dean, Seamus, Ron and Susan in taking him down and getting the Ministry back in our hands” Draco offered and looked around.

Since there wasn’t any better offer, he nodded and walked out from their hiding place. The Coven of War, under their own leadership of Joshua Galbraith made a pilgrimage to a near group of trees, hiding within the nature.

Harry looked after them and shook his head slightly. He hoped they could help him through this and hopefully, Draco didn’t die in here. He still needed to talk to him, at least have the time to say goodbye.

Reaching out his mind reading skills, Harry found contact to Draco much easier and smiled weakly. _Be careful, Draco._

“I always am, you idiot. It’s you who isn’t careful.” Harry chuckled, when Draco continued ranting in his head. “I’ve left one of the books about the Master of Death to Hermione. She’ll surely help you with all the stupid things you come up with.” 

_That’s always a good idea._ Harry grinned, watching the entrance of the town, where Draco finally disappeared between the houses

“Oh, and don’t be mad at me” Draco continued. “I also left all the other books I’ve kept from you to your children once you tell them about you. They’re in a safe in Gringott’s. The password is Master of Death and you need to show them all the items.”

_You are quickly falling out of favors, Draco._

Harry could hear Draco laugh inside his head. “Well, I’m also quickly being caught. Wait a second, I’m being brought into their cellars, how surprising.” The sarcasm in Draco’s head voice made Harry snort and he shook his head. “I’ll talk to you once I’ve seen the space and hopefully Ainsworth.”

Nodding, Harry turned to his group and before he could say something, a blue dog appeared in front of them. It was Ron’s Patronus.

“Ainsworth isn’t here. Only a handful of people stayed at the Ministry over night, it’s not him. We’re checking his home address, but I doubt he’ll be there. Take care, everyone” And with Ron’s voice disappearing, the Patronus evaporated.

Neville smirked. “So I guess, we’ll meet him here?”

“And we’re finally getting rid of all the Neo Death Eaters!” George nodded. “I can’t wait for a quiet ‘getting older’.”

Angelina snorted and shook her head. “With our children, there’s no quietly getting older.”

Harry grinned and turned back to the town, which seemed to be as quiet as ever. Actually, it looked as if almost no one was home. Well, if what Neville said was true, then most Neo Death Eaters had gone to Hogwarts and ended up imprisoned in Azkaban.

The professors and students definitely were not to be messed with. And with a Young DA started by Harry’s children, he knew that Hogwarts was rather safe.

Before his mind could wander off, he concentrated to connect with Draco again, just in case that he had seen Ainsworth down there. The next question was then how to get inside and attack the last few Neo Death Eaters without looking suspicious. Well, Harry Potter would always look suspicious, but maybe the others could somehow get inside. Or maybe the Coven could help somehow?

“Harry” Draco’s voice was in his head again and Harry jerked up.

_Yes. I’m here. Do you see him?_

“Yes. Ainsworth’s here. There are about ten people visible, we walked by a workshop with five workers inside and I’m being held captive by three others. I don’t know if there are more somewhere. So, what’s our plan?”

Harry frowned. _Hold on for a second._ He turned to the others. “Draco just confirmed that Ainsworth’s down there. ‘Mione, send Ron a Patronus. Lee, Cho, Angelina, how do we get down there? Draco counted about twenty people inside. He’s not sure if there are more.”

“I’d say the best bet would be to get them out of there” Cho suggested and turned to Lee who nodded.

George smirked. “I might be able to help there. The new item I’ve got is basically a smoke explosion. I could levitate one over there.” He pointed to a home with had a ventilation system basically in front.

Harry nodded and grinned. “Good idea.”

While Hermione sent a Patronus to her husband and George levitated one of his many appliances over the landscape and towards a home, Harry slipped back into his mind reading state.

_George is throwing a smoke bomb into the cellar. It might get a bit cloudy._

He could hear Draco chuckle in his head. “Fine by me. So you want all of them going outside?”

Harry nodded. _The plan is to fight them where we can see them. They might still have the advantage of the area, but at least we know how many there are._

“Good plan. See you in a few seconds, Ainsworth’s just telling me that I made a mistake by siding with you.” He chuckled. “Not sure that it’s a mistake, siding with the Master of Death. There’s literally no higher powered species in this Realm.”

 _The shadows have quite some power as well._ Harry grinned, though didn’t wait for an answer, as Draco seemed to be busy arguing with Ainsworth.

By now the smoke bomb stopped in front of the ventilation and George carefully tore the safety string before dropping it into the shaft. There was a loud band as it fell to the floor and an eerie silence followed it.

Harry and his team took out their wands and spread out around one side of the town, still hiding behind some bushes. This was going to be a short fight – hopefully.

Three things happened at the same time: As the sun quietly came up behind the mountains, Harry saw the door open of one of the houses. And the third was a person sneaking up behind Lee and Hermione with a drawn wand. Before he could react, he felt his Death Magic tingling and he knew that there was someone behind him with a wand drawn as well.

It looked like there were still a few more Neo Death Eaters out there, than they had anticipated. Looking over at Hermione, Harry exhaled when he found that none of his friends, he could see, were glowing red. They were probably just threatening them.

“Do not move! No word! Hands up, wand on the floor.” Harry heard a voice behind him and he sighed, following the instructions closely.

 _Slight problem, Draco. There are a few more people out here and we’re currently being held hostage by them_ , Harry sent a quick word.

Draco laughed. “Well, we’re coming out, George’s bomb has made it almost impossible to see anything. This is going to be fun.”

“Absolutely” Harry answered, by saying it out loud. The man behind him poked his wand into his back and he got up, walking down towards the town. From the looks of it, these stupid Neo Death Eaters had found every last one of them. Though they apparently only took the wands they could see.

Harry had a back-up wand and he knew that Neville had one as well. And well, the portable Magic Emitters Process was also still in Lee’s hand. They could – if everything went well – still defeat Ainsworth and the last of his followers.


	65. Chapter 65

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I have already written everything here except for the last chapter, I won't halt this story :) So, enjoy the last few chapters here and then I'll take a break (hopefully not too long...)

The scene had to look dramatic from the sky. A single town, a few houses and two groups of people walking closer together. Harry would have liked to see it from that perspective, nevertheless, he had to be on the floor and watched as his former boss walked towards him, grinning broadly.

“Harry fucking Potter. I should have known Malfoy didn’t kill you. He’s a pansy” Ainsworth greeted them, when they finally met in the middle of the town.

Surprisingly, Harry thought it was rather easy to keep his mouth shut while Ainsworth continued calling out him and every other member of Dumbledore’s Army. Slowly, there was a one sided smirk forming on Harry’s face and he raised his head slightly.

Once his former boss made a pause to get some air, Harry quickly spoke up as well. “Ainsworth, you should know not to underestimate your opponent, especially when it’s me.” That sounded a little arrogant. Harry shrugged his shoulders. “And since I’ve got all of my friends involved, nobody can get away from here.”

Ainsworth shook his head and raised his eyebrows. “Better come down from your high horse, Potter. It doesn’t suit you.”

Harry laughed. “Oh, but it does” he said. “Did you know for example that I could send all of you to Azkaban just like that?”

Could he actually do that? That just came out like that without him knowing if it was actually an option. Harry looked at the shorter, blond witch next to Ainsworth and then turned to Zil. _Can you just like that bring someone through the shadows to the prison?_

The free shadow on the floor changed expressions to a nightmare haunting grin when he answered only for Harry to hear: **We can do everything you want. I’ll bring someone to the human wards and they’ll imprison him. The one right next to your leader is a known Neo Death Eater and is wanted.**

Harry grinned. That worked. He looked at Ainsworth. “How about a presentation, Ainsworth? That short woman next to you for example… _GO_!”

The shadows rushed towards her and within a second she was gone. Harry had a feeling that the Coven of War had also helped them a little bit. Didn’t Zil once say that only the Master of Death can travel with them? Or maybe he was just imagining it. Harry was still grinning, while some of the Neo Death Eaters widened their eyes in shock and surprise by one of their friends disappearing without Harry having used a wand.

“Well?” Harry grinned and looked at the people around them. “Just like that.”

Ainsworth narrowed his eyes. “You’re going to hell like that!”

“I doubt that.” Harry quickly took out the Elder Wand and shot a spell at the Neo Death Eater that had gotten all the wands. The man was so surprised that a spell came flying towards him that he squealed loudly and tried outrunning the spell for a second. It hit him and all the wands flew into the air from wherever he had stashed them.

Their former boss seemingly just wanted to say a spell himself, when Draco launched forward and actually punched him in the face, when all the wands flew back into the hands of their wizards and witches. Ainsworth swore when Harry heard bones on bones cracking and when Harry quickly hid the Elder Wand again and started fighting the people, he saw Death hiding behind one of the houses.

Smirking weakly, Harry ducked from a spell thrown his way and started doing his business, checking lives on people, giving them the red Glow of Death and jumping from person to person.

In the end, he suddenly found himself in a bubble, protected from people around him. The only other person inside was Ainsworth. They could only hear the people around the bubble as if they were a few feet away.

“I should have known.” Ainsworth started and narrowed his eyes while Harry sighed. People in all the movies always were that vague. Why did Ainsworth have to be a bad James Bond villain? Could he even be counted as one of them?

Harry decided to humor his old boss. “What should you have known?”

They were walking in circles, which reminded him a lot of when he had been battling Voldemort. Talking, walking circles… that was just too familiar. It weirdly also gave him more confidence and he even grinned as Ainsworth seemed to start getting more angry. Yes, he really was a bad James Bond villain.

“Death was an idiot and picked _you_ out of all the people.”

Harry smirked and shrugged his shoulders. “I think he’s actually smart and decided to move on from a failed experiment.” That was probably a little too cocky.

Ainsworth stopped walking and narrowed his eyes. “So you know?”

Harry sighed and shook his head. “What do you think?! I referenced the same thing you did. Of course I know! And just so _you_ know, I’ve actually about finished the studies.”

“You’re the worst person to ever walk the earth.” Ainsworth pointed his wand at him, when Harry stopped walking.

“Funny.” Harry pointed his wand slightly over Ainsworth’s shoulder, seeing Draco standing there with the small pure magic object in Ainsworth’s back. Draco seemed to wait until the bubble was gone, so he could point it at Ainsworth. Looking back at his former boss, Harry smirked. “I could have said the same thing about you. Then again, I did personally meet Dolores Umbridge.”

With an old spell, clearly helped by the Coven of War, the bubble around them burst and Draco started the Magical Emitters Process on Ainsworth, which immobilized their boss once he let out another swear word.

“And coming from someone who _attacked children_ at school, I would suggest you look into a mirror” Harry said, shaking his head, while Ainsworth seemed to be fighting the machine.

Harry turned around to look for some people who needed help, when his other friends apparated and Ron suddenly called out to him: “Watch out!”

A strong magical push threw him a little in the air and he landed about two feet away from where he had originally stood, when a green spell landed where he was a second prior. He jumped to his feet and turned to look at Ron who already was helping his wife in fighting another Neo Death Eater. Ron saving his life like that reminded him about the time he saved his life on the night he had gotten to hear all about being the Master of Death.

“So this is how you want to play?” Harry asked when he turned back to Ainsworth visibly trying to fight against Draco’s machine.

There were people trying to stop Draco from using the Magical Emitter’s Process on their leader and were about to attack him, when he placed a protective half bubble charm around him. His back was protected and everything else he could see and the pure magic could keep immobilizing Ainsworth. Their boss was currently letting go of his wand as he screamed at them again.

“You are a disgrace to the Wizarding community!” Ainsworth glared at Harry.

“Oh, am I?” Harry chuckled. “I think you’ve got all of this backwards. You somehow thought that Wizarding purity is the most important thing. Do you know what happened to the first guy who tried to purify the Wizarding Community? He failed. As will you.”

Around them, the Neo Death Eaters were being caught and imprisoned, when they didn’t die. The only people left were three hard fighting Neo Death Eaters. One was in a group of Hermione, Ron, Cho and Dean. Nobody wanted to fight Hermione and Ron, added by Cho and Dean, Harry was sure this man regretted all his life choices by now. There was one spell after the other and the Neo Death Eater hadn’t gotten any time left to attack, as he had to try and defend himself nonstop. The second man was fighting Lee and George, along with Hanna and Angelina who seemed to have quite a lot of fun there. Actually, Lee and George were fighting with self-made joke articles and the Neo Death Eater had already an enormously huge nose and there were sparkles flying around his head apparently just to annoy him. The third was skillfully battling Neville, Thomas, Luna, Susan and Katie. Though with so many also skilled witches and wizards, he was no match for them.

Ainsworth drew Harry’s attention back to him, when he screamed in pain and with a few last screamed profanities, he fell to the floor. Draco walked closer, the pure magic still holding towards him. Their former boss had only lost conscious. He could come back as soon as the machine was put off.

Hermione disarmed the Neo Death Eater and Lee threw one last prank object into another Neo Death Eaters direction which made him stick to the floor and Hanna took away his wand, while George actually punched him in the face. Neville and Luna placed two spells on the last Neo Death Eater at the same time and knocked him out like that.

When Harry turned back to Ainsworth, Draco frowned and stopped the machine, turning their former boss on his back. “He’s dead” he stated when he checked up on the Neo Death Eater’s leader.

“What? How did that happen?” Harry shook his head.

Draco shrugged his shoulders. “Guess my machine was too strong.” He looked at the machine and sighed. “Sorry about that.”

Harry chuckled. “No worries. Thanks for saving my life.”

Ron laughed as he put his arm around Harry’s shoulders. “How come you thank Draco but not me?”

“I was coming to that part, mate. Stop being so impatient.” Harry laughed and shook his head.

Luna and Hermione joined them now as well and the Ravenclaw looked at Harry, questioningly. “So now what?”

Harry didn’t even need to answer, as Hermione was already speaking. “I’ve already sent a Patronus to Kingsley. He should be here any minute.”

Draco grinned and turned to the town. “Everyone, step back!” He placed another spell on the Headquartes, checking with their new spell if there was any living breathing soul left. Hopefully there weren’t too many animals. Their spell still couldn’t figure out the difference. “I need to see if there’s anybody still alive here” Draco explained when Susan frowned at him.

Luckily, there was not even an animal alive, as the spell didn’t show any sign of a living, breathing thing anywhere in this town.

“Good job, everyone. I could not have done that without all of you.” Harry looked around and grinned at them. He really couldn’t have done it alone.

“Did we actually do it?” Dean asked and turned to his husband who looked around as well and then shrugged his shoulders.

“Looks like it” he answered and grinned at his husband as well.

George laughed and then turned to Harry. “Hey, quick question, how should your children have figured out that you’re still alive from that newspaper? The only think I could see were a few rather weird mistakes.”

Harry laughed. “Well, if you put all these mistakes together, it spelt out a not so secret message. At least that was what Luna said.”

“Should have read it more attentive” Angelina grinned.

Ron quickly interrupted George who seemingly wanted to say something else as well: “So, is it actually over? Can we go back to our peaceful lives?”

“I think so.” Harry agreed and turned to look at the sun which was showing all its glory by now. It was going to be a good day.


	66. Chapter 66

> **The Ending of Ainsworth’s Reign of Terror**
> 
> _by Rita Skeeter_
> 
> In the early morning hours of last Tuesday, Aaron Ainsworth died in Ireland, surrounded by the last of his Neo Death Eater followers. What is by some considered to be one of the biggest stories ever written occurred two days ago. Aaron Ainsworth, former Head Auror responsible for countless attacks all over the UK and the latest death at Hogwarts, died in a secret location in Ireland.
> 
> His death can be traced back to our Savior Harry Potter, who made a miraculous comeback by saving us, once again. “We needed the world to think that I died in order for Ainsworth to feel safe from any of us”, the Golden Boy explained. As to how he had been able to pull it off, he didn’t go into too much detail. “It was a long plan, expertly executed by Draco Malfoy, who was tasked by Ainsworth to kill me. We needed this to happen, so he would trust Draco [Malfoy].”
> 
> In fact, the entire Golden Trio was available for questioning on Monday in an improvised press meeting late at night. Former Auror and Harry Potter’s best friend Ronald Weasley explained the weeks and months that went into the planning and execution of their intended attack. “The decision which brought the most change was re-starting Dumbledore’s Army. Only with everyone’s ideas was it possible to win in the end.”
> 
> Dumbledore’s Army was a rebellious group of students in the reign of Umbridge at Hogwarts when our Golden Trio had been in their fifth year. Since Defense Against the Dark Arts had been taught mainly by theory, Harry Potter opened up a group teaching it in practice, naming it after the late Headmaster Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore.
> 
> During the interview, future Minister of Magic Hermione Granger called Ainsworth’s actions ‘unmoral’ und ‘outright disgusting’. “Attacking Hogwarts, where our children should feel safe, is absolutely vicious. It didn’t go well the last time someone tried to do that and nobody will ever get to our children that way!” She closed the press conference by pledging to strengthen the magical walls surrounding Hogwarts as her first act of office.
> 
> While the current Minister, Kingsley Shaklebolt, is holding meetings with the intent of bringing back the Auror Program in a better and safer way, there have been numerous reports of Ministry workers filing emotional manipulation by Ainsworth.
> 
> According to former Trainee Auror Wilhelmina Smith, he liked to scare the future Aurors into the safety of a desk job. “I’ve volunteered once to follow an Auror and he was going through St. Mungo’s asking people for help in Neo Death Eater’s cases who have lost their minds. It was traumatizing.” Sadly, the Minister couldn’t be reached for a comment on how the Ministry was going to change the Auror Training from now on.
> 
> Countless members of the Undercover Taskforce have come out talking about how Ainsworth had forbidden them from altering their persona too much. Seamus Thomas has even been heard threatening to quit over the Head Auror telling him to keep Potter’s identity clearly visible, though he couldn’t be reached for a comment on this topic.
> 
> And finally, the mystery of the green power has also been solved: Ministry’s own Zora Kline found with the help of some members of Dumbledore’s Army a residue containing the magical signature of none other than Tom Riddle. The main ingredient seemed to be a portion of his blood, added with a sun-dried poisonous potion and the content could lead to fatal injuries through inhalation.
> 
> Let us just be thankful that this nightmare is finally over and all of Voldemort’s followers are safely imprisoned on Azkaban. What that means for our Savior’s next few steps isn’t clear, as he wasn’t available for another comment following the press conference.

The fight had been all over the news. That was probably also due to Kingsley having heard about it in not even two hours after it was over and he had apparated right in front of Harry who had been inspecting Ainsworth lying on the floor.

“What is the meaning of this… Harry?” Kingsley seemed shell-shocked to see Harry alive and absolutely not hurt.

Harry smiled weakly. “Hello Kingsley. I’m sorry for all of this. We didn’t know who we could trust after figuring out Ainsworth was in bed with the Neo Death Eaters. And I do believe you’ve had enough on your hands as it was.”

Kingsley shook his head. “You could have at least given me a hint! It is so good to see you alive” he chuckled and pulled Harry in a surprised hug. “You need to go and see your children, right now!”

“But I need to finish with everything here and…” Harry hadn’t gotten the time to explain that he needed to write a status report of what happened here, when Kingsley waved Hermione, Susan and Draco closer.

“If I’m telling you to write a status report of what occurred here, does that work for all of you?” Kingsley asked and Hermione nodded, giving Harry a raised eyebrow, quite definitely telling him to go and see his children.

Harry held his hands up in surrender. “Thank you. I’ll apparate right to Hogwarts.”

In fact, that was exactly what he did. Outside of Hogwarts, he found a lot of people cleaning up the surroundings. Ainsworth hadn’t even gotten through the first line of protectors. McGonagall had probably died thinking she could talk him out of it.

As Harry hurried through the Ministry workers, students and professors cleaning up, he saw all of his children close to the forbidden forest, cleaning up bricks and what else was lying around there. Diana was the first to see him and her eyes grew wide as she let go of a shriek and she ran towards him and fell into his arms.

“You’re alive!” she called out while Harry sank to the floor, holding his crying daughter in his arms. “I knew it! Kay thought she read something like that!”

Athena stood right in front of him not a second later and fell to her knees as well. “Daddy! I thought you died!”

Harry smiled, trying to power through his tears and shook his head. “I am so sorry, Pumpkin, but it was the only way to stop this nightmare. I promise no such stunts anymore. In all of my life.”

“You better!” Thelo stood behind Athena and smiled weakly. He really tried to be the strongest there, but Harry could see him barely holding it together.

Nodding, Harry pulled his two children into the hug and Nate fell around his neck, holding him tightly, almost taking away his breath.

Kay walked up to them and brushed a tear out of her face. She looked a little bit lost, when she knelt next to Thelo and Nate. “Don’t ever do that again, Dad. I thought we’ve lost everything!”

“I promise. I will never do anything even close to that ever again. And if I would do something like that again – which I won’t – I will promise to inform you first” Harry promised. “I’m sorry for making all of you go through this nightmare.”

*

Since the newspaper article had appeared, Harry had gotten a number of different job offers, the most prominent being Head Teacher of Hogwarts. However, Katie Bells had already handed in her application and in all honesty, Harry was much more interested in the Auror business.

And since he had promised his children not to do any stupid stunts again, they were okay with him working in the Auror division. Since Kingsley still had to figure out a safe way of re-starting all of it, Harry was having a few quiet moments at home with his children.

Hogwarts had ended three months earlier, due to the Headmistress’ death and some clause closing the school thereafter. The only people still in school were students preparing for O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s. Which meant that Thelo stayed back, though he had special visitation rights on the weekends and regularly floo’d in.

Two days after the newspaper article from Rita appeared – Harry had always admired how she had somehow changed her writing style – a knock on Harry’s front door, made him frown. Especially, since it was rather early.

He got up and opened the door to find Kingsley standing there. “Hi Kingsley, come on in! And please ignore the mess. I’ve been trying to teach the twins and Nate a few advanced tricks.”

“Magic outside of Hogwarts?” Kingsley asked and smirked. “Sounds too familiar.”

Harry laughed. “You know the idiom: Birds of a feather, right?”

“More a chip off the old book” Kingsley answered and followed Harry through the still silent house into the kitchen, where Harry offered some tea and the Minister agreed.

Once pleasantries had been exchanged, the Minister of Magic came to the reason of his visit. “I want to re-build the Auror department, but I need someone I can trust without doubt. Someone who will also work as the image of trust to the population.” Kingsley smiled. “And I thought of you. You’re not only the perfect person to deal with the press, but you’re also an excellent Auror. You’ve closed basically every case.”

Harry chuckled. “Well, I didn’t work alone.”

“I know” Kingsley agreed. “I would like to offer you to job of Head Auror.”

Wow. Harry nodded and looked at his tea. Before Kingsley could say something else, Harry had already made a decision. “I think I’ll accept.”

Kingsley was quiet and started laughing then. “We haven’t even spoken about money and you already agree?”

Smirking, Harry shrugged his shoulders. “It’s not about money for me. I want to help people and we both know that I have an unhealthy way of always trying to sacrifice myself. I promised my children not to do anything like that again. And I think being Head Auror would be an amazing mixture between helping and still being safe for my children.”

“That is a good way of seeing things.” Kingsley nodded impressed. “So, you’ve got any conditions with your new job?”

“Actually, I do” Harry smirked. “I know that Draco is not coming back to the Aurors, so I want Ron as the head of the Passive Aurors. I think he can do great there.”

Kingsley chuckled. “I agree.” He drank the last bit of his tea and got up. “Thank you, Harry. Oh, before I go: I want to award all the members of Dumbledore’s Army the Order of Merlin Second Class, so we’re doing a press conference. Am I allowed to give the press the information of you as the next Head Auror then?”

Harry smirked. “Absolutely. And I’m glad I’m getting another Order of Merlin. My one First Class Order is getting lonely in my study.”

Laughing, Kingsley shook his head. “Don’t get too arrogant now, Harry.”

“Never” Harry snorted and walked Kingsley out, while promising to be there at the ceremony. People would surely like to see this and hear the information that he was now Head Auror. And his children were definitely happy that he wasn’t going out into the fields too often anymore.


	67. Chapter 67

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Halloween :D

Harry and Draco sat up on a hill, watching the sun leaving the horizon. In all honesty, Harry wasn't sure what they were doing here. It was almost summer, he had successfully taken over the Head Auror position and they (meaning Kinsgley, Ron, Hermione and him) were currently re-building and re-structuring the Auror department. In the last few days, there had been the news that someone escaped on the way to Azkaban and while Harry had wanted to go look for the last free Neo Death Eater, Death had simply told him that this man was part of his way to become the actual Master of Death and not to intervene with fate. Even though Harry had tried almost everything to get Death to spill the secret - nothing had worked. And now that Draco had showed up, with Life, Harry knew it was about time. It would soon be a new day – for him at least. Draco would die tonight. Both knew it.

“I cannot believe that I have to live without you.” Harry spoke softly and stared at the grass in front of him, ignoring the beauty of thedeeply red and orange evening sky.

Draco inhaled the clear air and placed a hand on Harry’s. “Don’t worry love. I know you can do this. You’ve done such a great job in recent years, even without Ginny.”

Harry looked up into those beautiful eyes and smiled weakly. He had always dreamed of one day being with him – happy and living so long that they would get grey hair and be old together. With hair as grey as Draco’s beautyful eyes. But this had changed with the arrival of his own powers.

“I just… I hoped my life would be different.”

“I know, babe.”

Harry shook his head and stared at the pink clouds in the distance. They were quiet for another few minutes, while Harry just now seemed to grasp the idea of the beautiful evening sky. Finally, he sighed. “How come you’re so calm, Draco? You’re going to die in a matter of minutes.”

He looked back at his boyfriend, who smiled softly. “Why should I be worried, love? My boyfriend is the literal personification of Death. I’m sure you’re not going to let me suffer through it. If anybody can help me get to the land of the dead, it will be you.”

Copying his soft smile, Harry put an arm around Draco and pulled him close. “I just wish I could have spent more time with you. Why does the personification for Life has to be dead?”

Both men looked over to the two shadows of dancing angels at the side of the hill. Harry had been so surprised the first time Draco arrived with Life - someone he could actually see. She definitely wasn't the picture of what most men would consider beautiful, or a ten out of a ten. She was overweight, had small, almost dirty wings on her back and her hair seemed to remind of him Snape's almost greasy hair. However, what Harry realized rather quickly was the beauty surrounding her. She had a feeling of warmth and love so strong, Harry almost thought he was falling in love with her too. “It's the feeling of Life” Draco had said with a smirk on his lips, as if he had known what Harry had thought to which he had only rolled his eyes. Right now, Death and Life were both seemingly incredibly happy to be close to each other again. Harry was sure that one day this would be the two of them - Draco and Harry. He had never loved anybody as much as he had Draco. Well, Ginny came close and his children were an entirely different kind of love.

“Stop thinking, darling” Draco interrupted his thought and pinched his arm, which brought him back to the present, smiling softly. “Your dear friend and mentor gave me something which might actually help us with this long distance relationship.”

Harry couldn’t do anything else, but laugh. It wasn’t supposed to be happy, but the situation was just too dire not to laugh about something like that. Long distance relationship?! Their relationship was much more different than a simple long distance one. They were going to live in different realms!

Draco smirked and kissed his cheeks. He held out a small turtle-like object in his hands, which Harry took, slightly confused. “What’s this?”

“It’s the Turtle of Time, I think?” Draco said frowning.

From the very end of the hill, they both heard Death calling: “Time Turtle!” When Harry looked over, Death shook his head disapprovingly, but was still dancing with Life.

Harry chuckled, while Draco rolled his eyes. “Time Turtle” he whispered and smirked. “It’s supposed to be something of a… phone, I think, and…”

Before he could explain everything, Death appeared in front of them, Life right behind him and she seemed to try and hold Death back from attacking Draco. Though it seemed to be all in good fun.

“This is ridiculous; I thought you were a better student than my Paruluum!” Death rolled his eyes, clearly trying his hardest not to make it look obvious that he wasn’t pleased. Well, it was obvious, at least for Harry. And he had a rather hard time not to grin over how much Death was trying to hold back his agression. “The Time Turtle works as a kind of receiver so that Life and Death can communicate. It only works once my Master is dead, but for the time being, it will help Life to get over his or her death.”

Draco looked at Harry as if he was trying to tell him that he knew this already, which made him laugh and he thanked Draco for it and Death for the explanation. Life tore her lover back into her arms and they started dancing again, which made Harry once again slightly sad.

“Don’t be sad, love. Someday this will be us.”

Harry chuckled. “It already is us, Draco. I don’t think they could have gotten better people for this job than the two of us.”

The Slytherin nodded thoughtfully. They both looked back at the sky that was by now settling for a beautiful rich dark blue. “You know, Halloween will be here faster than you think and then I can visit you as well.”

Harry looked up and smiled sadly. “At least we’d get to see us once a year?”

Draco moved himself from the ground onto Harry’s lap and ran his fingers through his hair. “Exactly. I just want you to know how much I love you. And I do think someone needs to remind you of that once a year.”

Nodding, Harry placed his head into Draco’s crook of his neck and kissed it softly. It made Draco shiver slightly. “I love you, Draco and I’m sorry I can’t protect you from what’s about to happen.”

“You already did, love.”

Harry suddenly felt a brush of cold and flaming hot magic on his skin and he closed his eyes. _He’s here._ Death stopped dancing and walked closer with Life right by his side.

“This is where we pass on our legacy, Master” Life said and smiled at Draco. “You have proven to be a very good student and I know that under your hand, even the driest flower can move to be as beautiful as the others.”

“Master” Death bowed in front of Harry. “It’s almost finished. After today you will hold the mantle as Death and I know I’ve taught you everything I can so that you can welcome everyone in death as they had been in life.”

Harry bit back the tears from falling. “Can I please welcome Draco when he’s dead?” Draco looked at him, similarly trying to hold back his tears, but unable to master it quite as Harry had done.

Death nodded. “This is required as the Master of Death. Once you do this, you will from now and for evermore stand as the new Master of Death.”

The two angels stepped back into the shadows, as Draco moved to sit next to Harry again. He smiled weakly and Harry carefully stroked a tear out of his face. He let his own Death Magic surround Draco so he wouldn’t feel anything. No pain, no anger, only calm and warm emotions.

“I love you, Harry Potter. Master of Death.”

Harry nodded, as he felt the Neo Death Eater walking closer and pointing his wand at Draco. “I love you too, Draco Malfoy. Master of Life.”

“Avada Kedavra!”

“Expelliarmus!”


	68. Chapter 68

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you've had a nice Halloween and this is where we end the story :)
> 
> Thank you for coming on this ride with me, I did enjoy writing it and I hope you've enjoyed reading it! :D

After almost twenty four hours, Harry finally managed to slip away and closed his eyes in a secluded place where he wouldn’t be found for a few hours. He felt his strong Master of Death power overtake him and within a few seconds, he found himself in the Realm of the Dead.

The weather was as beautiful as the first time he had been there. Smiling softly, Harry turned around and found Draco almost manifesting himself there, right in front of him. He looked so different, almost calm and clearly happy. Though when he saw Harry, he had a soft, sad smile on his lips.

“Hello love.”

Harry returned the smile and fell around his neck. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be here earlier.”

Draco shrugged his shoulders and kissed his temple. “Time is irrelevant here, Harry. I thought it took you only seconds. So, don’t worry about that now.”

A few miles away, Harry could see what looked like a requiem and they seemed to be walking towards him. Leading the whole group was McGonagall, right after was someone who looked a lot like Draco and then there was Ginny and Harry’s parents. Something was definitely happening.

Just then, Death and Life appeared next to Harry and Draco. Stepping away from Draco, Harry faced his mentor. “We’re almost finished, Masters” Death started and turned to Harry. “Let your magic flow free and tell you what you have to do. Your Death Magic will be your most faithful companion.”

Harry nodded weakly and closed his eyes. He had already once listened to his magic when he had greeted the Coven of War and promised them not to harm them. He knew what he had to listen to.

In fact, not even five seconds later, Harry smiled and opened his eyes again. “I leave you to the dead as you leave me to the living, Master of Life.”

Draco nodded and answered: “And as you leave this Realm, I will give you the protection and love of Life, for Death is nothing without Life.” The reigning Master of Life gave Draco a burning candle, which he accepted, before turning to Harry. “May the light and warmth of this candle lead you through the darkest times until we reunite.”

Stepping forwards, Harry blew out the candle. In the background, he realized that the requiem had stopped moving a little bit away from them, watching silently. He turned back to Draco, concentrating on him only. His magic was nudging him to speak. “And may this smoke and the hint of gleam of the still slightly burning candle remind you that darkness is just the absence of light. Where there’s darkness and fear, there’s light and bravery.”

The new Master of Life smiled sadly. He cleared his throat now as well. “And I leave you to the living as you leave me to the dead, Master of Death.”

“And as I leave this Realm, I will give you the protection and power of Death, for Life is nothing without Death.” Now, Death handed Harry a young dead tree. This certainly was a weird ritual, though Harry was not complaining. It all felt right and his magic was safely guiding him through the weirdness. He turned back to Draco and smiled softly. “May the rustling of dead leaves in the autumn remind you of the circle of life and that there is no Life without Death.”

Now Draco was stepping forward as well and with a smooth movement of his hand, he re-animated the leaves on the tree and he smiled at Harry again. “May the promise of a new spring keep you strong through the coldest winter and remind you that there is hope wherever you turn as Life means hope and overcoming.”

Following his instincts, Harry knelt down and placed the tree in the ground, where it grew in such a fast way that wasn’t possibly in the Realm of the Living. However, here, it seemed to be normal.

“May we reign fairly and generously over the next generation.” Harry turned to Draco and smiled, while Draco repeated the statement and they turned back to their old masters.

The former Master of Life smiled broadly, as she held out a shimmering silver necklace with an old character for Life. “I hereby officially cede my position to Draco Lucius Malfoy, Master of Life.”

As Draco accepted the necklace, Death stepped forward as well, holding a matching golden necklace with a different character, quite possibly symbolizing Death. “I hereby officially cede my position to Harry James Potter, Master of Death.”

And just like that, the ceremony seemed to be over. Harry felt himself almost tore away into the Realm of the Living. He turned back to look at Draco who smiled softly and nodded as if to tell him that it was oaky to go. He would be back on Halloween.

Before he left the Realm of the Dead definitely, the former Master of Life turned to him, as if there was something else she really wanted him to know: “This is why we do our job, Master of Death. To see the person we love the most.”

She was right. Of course she was. Every time Harry would bring a person to the Realm of the Dead, he could get a glimpse of Draco and talk to him for a short time. A very short time. But then again, time was irrelevant in the Realm of the Dead.

Harry opened his eyes and inhaled, before sitting up in the small office, where he had hidden himself. It felt so different. He knew he was alone: Death was gone.

So was Draco. Sighing, Harry touched the necklace around his neck and smiled softly when he remembered Draco. The promise of Halloween was right around the corner and then they would meet again.

Chuckling, Harry wiped some dirt from his clothes and frowned at the window which had turned into almost a mirror due to the blackness of the magical windows. He blew out the candle and smiled at the memory of Draco. When he closed the door, he stopped for a second and looked back into the dark office. Slightly surprised he turned to the shadows, definitely hiding in the empty office: “I never realized that this was a love story after all.”


End file.
